


House of Wolves

by thinkpink



Series: Bad Moon Rising [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Knotting, M/M, Mates, Not Between Main Pairing, Scenting, heads up i love keith and it's obvious in this fic, more jokes than sex my b, slight non-con aspect, the shance is loving and consensual
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-01
Updated: 2019-05-01
Packaged: 2020-02-10 14:03:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 34,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18661867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thinkpink/pseuds/thinkpink
Summary: Harboring a massive secret from your closest friends is so much easier when you have someone to share it with, and being mated to Shiro is a godsend in more ways than one. But even with newfound love and companionship, Lance can't forget he's in the middle of a war to save the entire universe. A universe he's only really seen a fraction of.He's harshly reminded of this fact when Voltron teams up with a trusted contact of the Blade of Marmora - a pack of Galra wolf shifters.





	House of Wolves

**Author's Note:**

> only took me four effing months to get this finished, cry for me argentina. though this wouldn't have been finished without the cheerleading and guidance of @nihilistshiro and @feytality. luv u both uwu
> 
> and yes, this IS named for an mcr song, i am trash
> 
> i have at least one more planned in this series ;)

_You’re staring,_ Lance tells him.

He doesn’t need the link to know this. He can feel Shiro’s eyes burning through the back of his head.

_Sorry, spacing out._

Lance smirks, his attention seemingly still on the box of wires he’s sorting through. 

_I know. You’ve been thinking about grape flavored marshmallows for like twenty minutes._

_I just really miss them! You can’t get good grape flavored candy outside of Japan._

Lance can feel his genuine frustration over this fact.

 _I know, baby._

Shiro scoffs and rolls his eyes and Lance finally turns around to look him. Shiro is elbow deep in what looks like microchips. 

“Please remind me why we agreed to help Pidge with this?” Lance whines, his fingers are stinging from the open wires catching at his skin.

“Because, Pidge is our friend and we love her.” Shiro’s using his leader voice, and Lance snorts. “And also because she promised she would cover cleaning with Coran tonight for you.” _So we can run._

_Right, right, right._

The reminder doesn’t mean Lance is enjoying their busywork any more than before, but knowing he’ll have the opportunity to spend some time off ship with Shiro makes it easier to get through.

The second they’d landed planet side, Lance had taken one look at the grassy plains and turned pleading eyes on Shiro. 

“It’s risky…” he’d warned, but Lance could tell he was just as interested.

“We’ll go at night, we won’t shift until we’re far from the castle, we’ll be _soo careful!”_

It hadn’t taken long for Shiro to give in. It had been three lunar cycles since they’d left Kito and while they’d shifted more than a few times on the ship – hidden in the black paladin’s quarters – it wasn’t even close to being in the open wilds. 

“How much more do you have of that?” Shiro asks, and Lance gets a flash of himself, splayed out in Shiro’s bed, moaning. 

He spins around with a blush, haphazardly throwing cords and wires into their respective receptacles before turning back to Shiro with a wide smile.

“Done!”

He feels a wash of Shiro’s amusement, who nods down to his own sorting. Together they organize the chips to Pidge’s exacting standards – Lance will never understand how a woman who lives in a literal _dump_ cares so much about the order of microchips, but to each their own.

Shiro barely has the containers put away before he’s holding Lance’s face between his hands, pushing the smaller man against the wall, melding their mouths together.

Lance whimpers, grasping at Shiro’s shirt – giving himself over to the sway of his mate, when an annoyed-but-unsurprised voice interrupts them.

“Don’t you guys have a bedroom?”

Shiro pulls his mouth away but doesn’t move very far out of Lance’s space.

“But how will we mark this off our bingo card?” Lance asks and Pidge gags.

Shiro grabs his hand and turns a look of fake admonishment to Lance. “Sorry Pidge, we were just leaving.”

“Good, I don’t want any of your… _fluids_ in my workspace.”

Lance makes a face. “Oh, you made it gross Pidge, not us.”

She waves them away. “Asexual privilege,” she says crisply. “Now go, before I decide not to do your chores, Lance.”

“Outta here!” Lance shouts, ruffling a hand in Pidge’s hair which she immediately tries to bat away.

Shiro tugs him into the hallway, and they make their way towards the paladin’s quarters. Lance is indulging in his favorite hobby – pulling up dirty memories and fantasies like a dollar porn theater until Shiro is blushing – when they hear a sound that gives them pause.

Keith is in the training rooms, where he spends more than his fair share of time, especially lately. Shiro hasn’t said anything, but Lance has picked up vague concern from him in regard to the red paladin. 

_You want to go check on him?_

Shiro squeezes his hand in gratitude and they head towards the sounds of Keith putting himself through his paces. 

When they find him, he’s tearing into training droids, his glowing blade nearly invisible from the speed of his movements. Judging by the hair plastered to his face with sweat and how hard he’s breathing, Lance would guess he’s been at it for hours.

 _He’s been working himself to death lately._ Shiro’s concern is thick in both of their minds and Lance tries to send soothing thoughts.

 _I’d be more worried if he_ wasn’t _overdoing it in the gym._

He means it light heartedly, but Lance can tell Shiro is too worried about Keith to find the humor in it.

He _has_ been going overboard lately, not just with Voltron but taking missions with the Blade of Marmora as well. Too many missions, in Shiro’s opinion.

They’ve been standing in the doorway, awkwardly silent as they communicate psychically for far too long, but Keith hasn’t even noticed.

Finally, Shiro clears his throat, and Keith looks over in surprise. Despite this, he expertly dodges the droid’s attack, ducking down cleanly in a move that makes Lance jealous. 

Keith calls for the training sequence to cut and nods, walking over to them, swiping at his hair uselessly.

“What’s up?” He reeks, and Lance wrinkles his nose, not hiding his affront. 

“You’ve been in here all day?” Shiro tries for politely inquisitive but it comes off more accusing.

Keith, who is familiar with Shiro’s brand of concern, rolls his eyes. 

“I’m fine, just keeping my reflexes sharp.”

“Have they ever not been sharp?” Lance can’t help asking, squinting at Keith critically. 

“They could always be better,” and that’s such a Keith reply that now Lance is rolling his eyes. 

Shiro ignores their antics. “I thought you got in late from a Blade’s mission. The castle’s report logged a pod returning at four am.”

Keith nods, walking over to the side of the mat, where his water and sweat rag are. He mops at his face, only further disheveling his hair. Lance is fighting a strong urge to reach out and fix it. 

“Yeah, around then, why? Something the matter?”

Shiro huffs. _”No,_ but don’t you think you’re working yourself a little hard? Did you even sleep when you got home?”

“I caught some sleep on the flight back. What? I’m not allowed to train now?”

Shiro’s frustrated and it’s bleeding over into Lance. 

“You trying to work yourself to death, Mullet? Cause if so, I call dibs on your sword.”

Keith swats at him with his sweaty towel and Lance jumps back in disgust. 

“Look,” he sighs exasperatedly. “I’m just keeping busy. I’ve had a lot of free time lately” the _since you two got together_ goes unsaid “and I’m just trying to keep from getting bored.”

He says it matter-of-factly, like it doesn’t bother him at all, but they’ve all lived together long enough to read between the lines. Keith is lonely since Shiro and Lance started spending so much time together.

Intense guilt pangs though the link and Lance looks over to see Shiro’s stricken face. Keith is his best friend and the last thing Shiro wants is to upset him. 

Lance doesn’t even have to think about it before he’s offering. “You want to hang out with us tonight?”

Shiro looks at him in surprise. _Lance, you don’t—_

Lance cuts the thought off. “We’re going planet side to look around and play tourist. It’ll be fun!”

Keith looks interested, but Lance can tell he’s wary of a pity invite.

Shiro picks up on this too. “We’ve got a few days until our contacts arrive. Might as well look around.” 

He’s flooding Lance with love and gratitude, and if Keith’s increasingly excited face wasn’t enough to make giving up their run worth it, that definitely is.

“Aren’t you guys going on a _date?”_ Keith asks, still not totally convinced. “I know you traded chores with Pidge.”

Lance brushes it off. “It’s not like we were going for a romantic dinner. Don’t make me beg, Keith, my self-respect can’t take it.”

“You have that?” And his quick reflexes save him from the smack Lance tries to direct at his shoulder. 

Keith is laughing when he agrees, and both Shiro and Lance are warmed by the sound. 

+

“I know I don’t say it often, but I love you,” Shiro whispers to Lance later that night as they lay in bed. 

They don’t say it often, but only because it’s so obvious through the bond. 

“I know,” Lance turns in his arms, pressing their mouths together. 

They’d ended up having a lot of fun. Lance and Keith had goaded each other into trying increasingly weirder looking food until Lance was gagging over a trash receptacle, Shiro rubbing his back.

The planet they’re on, Woe-121, is a hub for those avoiding the empire, bustling with hundreds of different species, all trying to make a life away from their conquered home planets. 

They’d wandered through food stalls and vendors, enjoying their rare downtime. 

Keith had picked up a short, fat and exceedingly sharp knife that he swore he absolutely needed. 

Lance had been shocked and thrilled to find a pair of dark shaded glasses that were designed for species with ears like theirs. He doesn’t mind the eyepatch, though sometimes it gets uncomfortable, but his vanity isn’t ready to handle the scars and almost cloudy grey cornea outside of the bedroom just yet.

He’d tried them on and turned to his companions.

“Do these make me look like Stevie Wonder?” 

Shiro choked on his laughter and Keith had rolled his eyes, fighting a laugh of his own. 

“Yeah Lance, the only thing that stopped you from looking like Stevie Wonder was the lack of sunglasses.”

Lance sniffed haughtily. “Whatever, I’m still getting them.”

All in all, it had been worth giving up a night of running. 

“Who knows, maybe we’ll have some time in the next few days.” Shiro offers.

It’s unlikely, but neither mentions that. 

“Well at least I didn’t have to clean out the medical pods. Why do I always get stuck with that chore anyway?” Lance tries to sound annoyed, but it’s half-hearted.

“Coran asks for you.”

“Et tu, Coran!”

Shiro laughs and pulls Lance closer, rubbing his face into Lance’s throat unthinkingly.

 _If you were a cat, you would be purring right now._ Lance tells him, as if he doesn’t enjoy being scented as much as Shiro enjoys doing it.

_Just imagine my tail wagging._

Lance’s peal of laughter brightens the room. 

+

“Our contacts are Glara, so they’ll be in disguises with their faces hidden,” Allura informs them.

They’re standing around the bridge of the ship, getting ready to head out. They’ve foregone their paladin armor in an effort to blend in. This planet might not be under Empire control, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. 

“They’re not going to be in Blade uniforms?” Lance asks, looking to Keith.

The red paladin shakes his head. “They’re a contact of the Blade, but they aren’t part of it. I don’t really know why, but Kolivan trusts them so we will too.”

“The information they have on the druids will go a long way towards helping us infiltrate their home base and take down Haggar from the inside.”

“This could be a huge advantage in our fight, so it’s important that this meeting goes well.” Shiro says. “From what Kolivan says, they’re hesitant to work with outsiders. Even Voltron.”

“So don’t let Lance talk, check,” Pidge quips and Lance shoves her lightly. 

Allura smiles but it’s obvious she kind of agrees. Lance rolls his eyes and holds up his hands.

“I’ll be on my best behavior,” Lance swears. “Boy scouts honor.”

“Boy scouts?” Coran questions, leaning towards Lance.

Allura cuts them off before Lance can launch into an explanation.

“Assuming everything goes well today, they will be traveling with us for some time. So yes, I would appreciate it if everyone is on their best behavior.”

Pidge and Lance’s faces snap to one another accusatorily. Lance’s points to his eyes and then points towards Pidge in a V, who scoffs.

“That’s directed at everyone,” Shiro tells them, amused despite himself. 

Their meeting takes them far into the city, miles past where Lance had shopped and ate with Shiro and Keith. Woe-121 is massive but luckily lacking any profitable resources, making it the perfect place to hide from the empire. 

Allura leads them confidently towards the agreed upon location, a bar that reminds Lance hilariously of the cantina from Star Wars. 

Immediately the music is playing in his head and Shiro looks over in exasperation. 

_Thanks, that’s going to be stuck in my head forever now._

Lance shoots him a grin. _What’s mine is yours, baby._

Shiro shakes his head and looks away and when Lance turns his attention back to the group, Keith in watching him curiously.

_Uh oh._

Shiro is quick to reassure him. _Don’t worry, he’ll write it off as your weirdness._

_Oh thanks!_

Lance is just about to start listing all the ways _Shiro_ is weird, when Allura finds their contacts, leading them towards the dark corner they’re seated in.

 _Hopefully they don’t shoot first,_ Lance can’t help but think and Shiro shushes him mentally.

“May we sit?” Allura asks politely, and one near the middle gestures to the open chairs.

There are four of them, wearing blank masks that are eerily similar to the druids, with tight cat suits that wouldn’t look out of place on the Blade of Marmora. 

It’s an unsettling juxtaposition and it distracts Lance enough that it isn’t until he’s sitting that he smells it.

Shiro’s head swivels towards him and they make eye contact, minds one and the same.

_Shifters._

Lance is glad for his dark sunglasses because he’s boggling. 

The second largest one who had invited them to sit down is definitely the Alpha, it’s his scent that blankets the remaining three.

The suddenly stiff posture of the others tells Lance and Shiro that they’re equally as aware of the fact that they’re sharing a table with other shifters. 

Lance wonders what’s going on across their link.

_Well now we know why they’re not with the Blade._

The smallest one is watching Lance, who looks at his faceless mask steadily. 

Shiro reaches over and places his hand on Lance’s knee, a subtle sign to the other pack. 

In case the notch in his ear isn’t enough.

“Thank you for meeting with us here,” Allura begins. “We have a common goal, the overthrow and restructuring of the Galra Empire.”

“We do, indeed,” the Alpha replies with a voice like gravel. “Kolivan spoke very highly of you, Princess Allura.”

Lance doesn’t think he imagines the blush that paints her cheeks.

_Interesting…_

Shiro looks at him briefly but doesn’t comment.

“You have me at a disadvantage…” Allura replies, ignoring the comment about Kolivan.

“Maeko,” he offers. “I understand you believe your team can penetrate the druid’s defenses.”

“With the right intelligence,” Shiro interjects, and the other Alpha turns to him.

“Intelligence we can offer, Black Paladin, if we have the support. I won’t risk my team for this mission.” _My pack,_ Lance and Shiro both hear, link or no.

“Protection and support will always be provided by Voltron,” Allura assures them.

“We’ll have your back,” this comes from Keith, and it’s spoken with conviction. 

The Alpha turns to look at the person next to him. Lance knows they’re talking things over via the psychic link, but to everyone else it appears are if they’re merely staring at each other though eyeless masks.

After a few minutes have passed, in which Allura shifts awkwardly and Keith drums his fingers on the table, Maeko returns his attention to Allura.

“We’ll join you for this mission.”

Allura smiles and nearly claps her hands together in delight, only just stopping herself.

“Excellent. We’ll have quarters set up for you all on the ship. We can depart at your behest.”

Maeko nods. “Tomorrow morning. We’ll find you.”

The ship is currently hidden outside of city limits, but the Alpha speaks with the confidence that they won’t need directions.

“Er—yes, that works for us as well.” 

She stands, and the other paladins are quick to follow. 

Maeko stands too, and his companions mirror his action. 

“I’m looking forward to working with you…” He holds his arm out and Shiro reaches forward, clasping right below the elbow as Maeko does the same to him.

“Shiro,” he supplies, his voice unusually hard. 

Lance has seen enough Alpha posturing to know this could go south, real quick.

“Shiro,” they finally release each other, and then Maeko turns to Lance for the first time, giving him a quick once over. 

Lance holds his ground but says nothing and Shiro pings with approval.

They’re quiet as they leave and wander through the city back towards the castle.

Once they’re a reasonable distance away, Hunk says what everyone is thinking.

“That was weird, right? I thought they were going to be harder to convince.”

Lance nods in agreement, looking to the others.

“It _was_ odd,” Allura agrees. “But no more than I expected. Kolivan did warn me they were a little…formal.” 

_Did he mention they were shifters?_ Lance thinks hysterically. 

_He might not know._

Lance looks to Shiro. _Do you think this is safe? What if they say something?_

Shiro’s conflicted, and Lance reaches out to grasp his hand. 

_It’s a risk we’re going to have to take. We need their help to take down the druids. Hopefully… Well. We’ll just have to rely on the fact that they probably don’t want to be outed either._

Lance nods and hums in agreement.

“What was that, Lance?” Hunk asks, and Lance flushes with the realization that’d he’d verbalized his thoughts.

“Just humming!” He’s quick to assure. “I’ve, uh, had the cantina song from Star Wars stuck in my head since we walked in there.”

“Oh my god, me too!” Pidge shouts with a laugh.

+

When the other pack arrives the next morning, they have removed their masks.

Lance is glad of it, because they’d seriously creeped him out. 

The Alpha, Maeko, is a Galra of the fuzzy variety. He actually looks kind of similar to Sendak, the sort of pure Galra that seems surprisingly uncommon throughout the Empire, with three large scars across his face. 

He’s almost adorable except for the severe expression and the way he seems to look at Lance as if he finds him wanting.

Allura invites them onto the ship and into the lounge, where everyone stands around awkwardly. 

Maeko gestures to the woman at his side, a pretty Galra with unusually long hair that’s held in a high ponytail. She isn’t very big, but Lance gets the impression that she’s sharp. Her eyes are critical. 

“Seneka,” the Alpha introduces, and the woman nods respectfully. 

_His beta._ Shiro thinks and Lance silently agrees. Her pointed ears are whole and unscarred, so she definitely isn’t Maeko’s mate, but her body language and the fact that she’s introduced first tells Lance and Shiro that this woman is his second-in-command.

The largest of the four is a hybrid of some sort, if Lance had to guess, with light, sleek fur so dark violet it’s almost black. The thick tail and big eyes give Lance the impression of a giant, aggressive otter. It’s oddly disconcerting. 

He stands around the edge of their pack, tense and ready for action – a sentinel, Lance is sure of it. He remains silent and still when Maeko informs them his name is Juun.

Finally, they come to the last and smallest of their pack – he also looks pure Galra, with fluffy pointed ears that sit on top of his head and luminous yellow eyes. What’s odd though is that he’s smaller than any pure Galra Lance has ever seen. 

“Last is Ryker,” Maeko tells them, and it’s spoken with a hint of disdain. 

Ryker doesn’t seem bothered by the tone and he’s the first to offer a smile, though it’s small. 

Lance and Shiro look at each other uneasily.

 _You don’t think...?_ Lance asks.

_Let’s not assume._

“A pleasure to meet you all,” Allura offers, and it’s slightly less warm than her usual greeting. “You already know Shiro, of course. This is Keith, Lance, Hunk and Pidge.”

Each paladin holds up a hand as they’re introduced. 

“Last but not least is my dear friend and advisor, Coran.”

“How do you do!” Coran calls, bright and cheerful. 

Back in the day Lance would have thought the older Altean couldn’t read the room, but years of friendship have taught him how shrewd Coran really is. Lance recognizes a voice that says _I’m not scared of you, so you might as well stop trying to be scary._

Lance smiles at him and Coran winks.

“I’ll be showing you to your rooms, gentleman,” Coran gestures behind them, before turning to Seneka and dipping into a slight bow. “And lady.”

Seneka raises a brow, but she seems amused.

Lance feels some of the tightness in his chest give. Maybe this partnership won’t be completely awful.

Once the other pack is out of the room, Coran leading them to their quarters, the paladins are abuzz.

“This is going to be so weird,” Pidge says, and Hunk is nodding.

“It’s not like we’ve never had guests on the ship before,” Keith reminds them, and Lance gets the vibe that he’s sensitive to anything negative said against the other Galra.

“Yeah but those people were thankful for our help and happy to see us,” Pidge reminds him. “I don’t get that sense from these guys.”

“Well, be that as it may, they _are_ helping us, so we’ll treat them just as we have everyone else we’ve worked with.” Shiro, the voice of reason as always.

 _Thanks for the pep-talk Mister Rogers._

Shiro huffs.

“Eh, they’re weird, but we’ve had weirder,” Lance chimes in. “Hopefully we can get this over with quick.”

Everyone can agree with that sentiment, and it carries them through to the afternoon when it’s quickly extinguished. 

“Worm holes are out of the question,” Maeko tells them with a note of finality. 

They’re all gathered on the bridge, going over the plans. 

“But it could take us pheebs to get to the right galaxy!” Allura looks as dismayed as her voice sounds.

“We can use hyperdrive up until a certain point.” It’s the first time any of their guests beyond Maeko has spoken. Seneka has a low voice, but it’s melodic and appealing. “But we won’t be able to get closer than a few galaxies away before dropping down to regular speed. The druids have extensive tracking technology, and if we trigger it, this operation is as good as over.”

Allura tsks, clearly annoyed. “Well then we’ll plot the course with that in mind. Is there any chance you have a map of the druid’s base?”

Without speaking, Juun pulls out a transmitter, clicking it twice until a magenta map is projected above them.

“These are the blueprints,” Seneka says. “And while the length of the trip may be less than ideal, it will at least give you all enough time to thoroughly memorize the layout.”

“I’ll handle that part,” Pidge assures her confidently. 

“In the meantime, you’ll learn how to fight.” Maeko informs them, voice cool.

Lance scoffs. “Uh, I think we’ve got that handled.”

He gestures at Keith who looks seriously offended by Maeko’s suggestion. 

“There are specific ways to fight the druids that you’ll want to be aware of,” Seneka says, not unkindly. “Ryker can show you how it’s done.”

The smallest Galra waves, though there’s something hesitant about it. 

Lance can’t help thinking he knows exactly where that hesitance comes from, but he doesn’t want to speculate. 

It looks like they’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other, anyway.

“Well there’s no such thing as being too prepared,” Shiro says. “We’ll get started on that training bright and early tomorrow morning.”

Lance fights a groan, a feeling that is shared by three fifths of the other paladins. 

_I’m supposed to be on the rifle range…_ Lance reminds his Alpha. _I’ll never get my shooting skills back at this rate._

Shiro shoots him a sympathetic look. 

_Sorry baby, but Seneka’s right. If there’s a better way to fight the druids, we need to know about it._

Lance huffs, but he knows Shiro is right. 

The discussions break up shortly after that, and Lance heads towards the range to attempt to squeeze in the training he’s missing the next day. He’s nowhere near where he wants to be with his rifle after the partial loss of his eyesight, but he’s getting closer every day. 

Shiro presses warmth through the link, what Lance has come to think of as a mental hug, as Lance leaves the room.

Allura and Shiro remain behind to go over the ship’s upcoming route with Maeko and Seneka. 

As Hunk and Pidge head towards the engineering bay, Lance turns to Keith.

“Training rooms?” 

The red paladin nods, and Lance wonders why he’d even bothered asking.

Only a few steps out the door, a soft voice from behind gives them pause.

“Lance?”

They both spin to find Ryker, standing timidly outside the door. He’s alone. Where the largest Galra has gone, Lance isn’t sure.

“Uh, yeah?” Lance looks to Keith in confusion who shrugs.

“May I speak with you for a moment?” Ryker’s voice is quiet, as if he doesn’t want to disturb anyone despite his words. His eyes dart to Keith. “Alone.”

Keith’s eyebrows shoot up, but now Lance understands what’s going on. 

“Yeah, no problem.” He turns to Keith. “I’ll meet you in the training room, get the range set up for me, yeah?”

Keith hesitates before nodding. “Sure.”

With a final confused glance at Ryker, Keith continues without him, leaving the two shifters alone.

“Not here,” Lance says, when Keith is far enough away.

He turns and without a word, Ryker follows, until they arrive at Lance’s destination. 

The observatory is the best place to have private conversations, the clear glass walls making it impossible for someone to sneak close enough to overhear.

“What’s up,” Lance asks, more casually than he feels.

Ryker wavers, rocking onto the balls of his feet, looking at the ground. Lance has never seen a nervous Galra before and it’s definitely weird. 

“Do the other paladins know about you and Shiro?”

Lance has to give him credit, Ryker is direct.

“That we’re dating? I think it’s pretty obvious.”

Not that Lance is going to give it to him easily.

Ryker actually laughs, and it’s an attractive sound. He finally looks up at Lance, more confident in their interactions now, and Lance extends that sentiment to not only his voice. 

Ryker is pretty. He’s just slightly taller than Keith – who Lance imagines is indeed the smallest Galra – his dark violet fur is streaked with paler lavender that frames his face becomingly.

 _You’re spoken for._ Shiro sounds amused. 

_Stop eavesdropping!_

“I only ask because I’d like to know what is okay to speak aloud and what isn’t,” Ryker says, and Lance is slightly touched. 

“They don’t know,” he finally tells him, leaning back against the glass window. 

Ryker frowns but nods. “That’s unfortunate, but good to know. It would have made training easier, but we’ll work around it.”

Lance perks up at that. “How would it have made it easier?”

“The druids are blind. They rely on quintessence to sense their surrounding and opponents but for whatever reason they can’t sense shifters when they’re in their true form.”

_Whoa._

There’s a shared sense of surprise through the link. 

“But, there are other ways to fight the druids as well,” Ryker informs him with a shrug before smiling beatifically, yellow eyes shining. “Anyway, I just wanted to ask! I’ll see you in the morning?”

Lance nods, still feeling a little out of depth. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

Ryker leaves and Lance is left alone in the observatory quicker than he can blink.

 _Well he seems…nice._ Shiro interrupts.

_I think he means well. Seems genuine._

_Right, I agree. Do you really think…?_

Lance shakes his head in frustration, even though he knows Shiro can’t see. 

_I’m not sure. I can’t smell anything on him beyond that Alpha._

Shiro grunts in agreement, and Lance feels his attention return to his discussion with the others on the bridge. 

Lance finally shakes himself out of it, before heading down to the training rooms to meet Keith.

When he gets there, Keith has set everything up in a way that looks like a shooting range but without any discernible target.

At his questioning look, Keith grins ferally.

“Well, I figure since you can’t shoot for shit anymore, it wouldn’t be too risky for me to be your target.”

Lance can’t help laughing. 

“Maybe all I need is the right incentive?”

“Let’s find out.”

+

Lance is sprawled out naked in Shiro’s bed, where he can be found more often than not these days. On his stomach playing a game Pidge installed on his coms tab, his attention is fully directed to the task at hand, which in this case is shooting little blue furry creatures that are almost too cute to kill. 

Lance doesn’t even notice Shiro using the distraction to his advantage, doesn’t realize Shiro went into the bathroom on two feet and came out on four. 

So caught up in trying to master a combination attack, Lance doesn’t even hear the clicking of Shiro claws on the floor as he moves towards the bed.

What he _does_ notice is a cold, wet nose shoved into his butt crack.

“Oh my god!” Lance yelps, rolling into his back to look at Shiro, whose tongue is lolling out. There’s a surge of amusement through the link.

“Why do you have a tail right now?” Lance asks, just a touch exasperated. 

Shiro gives him a mental shrug but Lance thinks he knows why. 

It’s easier for Shiro to cover Lance in his scent when he’s in his wolf form. And with the addition of another Alpha and their entire pack, Shiro has to make sure his territory is clearly marked.

 _You’re not territory._ Shiro huffs, stepping forward to stand over Lance and rub his fuzzy face into Lance’s neck.

“He says, as he aggressively scents me,” Lance rolls his eyes. “You better not piss on me, I just changed these sheets.”

 _We could move to the shower?_ Shiro offers magnanimously.

“Down boy,” Lance runs his fingers into Shiro’s fur, paying special attention to the sensitive spot behind his ears.

Shiro lays down, blanketing his entire body, eyes closed. 

“You know you weigh a ton like this,” Lance attempts to take a deep breath as proof.

_You’re fine._

“Oh thanks, I’ll just try to breathe as little as possible.”

_Sounds good, also never stop what you’re doing._

Lance laughs. “Oh, this?” 

He lifts his hand away from Shiro’s head, who immediately whines and pushes up against it. 

“Baby,” Lance huffs. 

Shiro is all warmth and affection and just a little bit of arousal.

Lance can feel Shiro’s interest pique when it’s acknowledged, and then the Alpha wolf is grinding down on him meaningfully, his crotch rubbing against Lance’s thighs.

“Lemme shift and we can play,” Lance coos, fingers winding deeper into Shiro’s fur, now pulling instead of petting. 

_No, stay like this._

Lance flushes at the idea. _Shiro! That’s kind of…_

It’s not done, really. Or if it is, no one talks about it. The ultimate taboo amongst shifters.

_I’m not going to knot you, I just want to taste you._

Lance is still blushing, but he’s interested, and it’s obvious through the link. 

Shiro stands up and steps back, looking down at Lance like he’s a sheep who wandered too far from the flock. He snorts, tossing his head, before licking across Lance’s thigh – up, up, up until he can slide his tongue over Lance’s balls.

“Oh god,” Lance moans, legs spreading without thought. 

Shiro noses at his hip, gesturing to the left, and Lance struggles to remember up from down, arousal making him slow.

 _Turn over,_ Shiro finally instructs and Lance obeys immediately.

Once he’s back on his stomach Shiro sticks his nose into the valley on his thighs, pushing up with his snout. Lance gets the hint and moves onto his hands and knees.

“Shiro, this is, _holy shit!”_ Lance drops to his elbows, shoving his face into a pillow as Shiro laps up the crack of his ass.

He does it again and Lance moans loud enough to hear through the pillow. As a wolf, his tongue so much more dexterous and intense.

_Oh my god, Shiro, oh my god, shit—_

_Move the pillow, baby, I wanna hear your voice._

Lance mewls, because though he doesn’t think it directly to him, he can feel that Shiro wants the other pack to hear him. 

And if Galra shifter hearing is anything like theirs, they will.

Shiro’s putting in work, pressing his tongue deep and loosening the muscle, the tip brushing at his prostate. Drool is running down from his mouth, dripping off of Lance’s balls.

Unable to stop himself, Lance reaches between his legs to fist his cock, which is aching with the need to come. 

_Do it, baby. Get yourself off, I wanna see you come, my Luna._

It’s the title that does it and Lance immediately spills over his hand and onto the bed, wailing. Shiro whines, the feeling of Lance’s orgasm echoing through him as well.

Shiro is quick to lap at his fingers, over the sheets, cleaning up Lance’s mess as best he can before Lance can collapse into a puddle. 

Just as Lance’s legs begin to slide out from under him, rough human hands are at his hips, lifting him back into position as Shiro slides into him.

“That was really fuckin’ pervy,” Lance half-heartedly admonishes.

Shiro lifts his hand before swiftly dropping it in a loud crack against a bouncing ass cheek. 

“Oh—fuck!” Lance cries. Shiro is pulling out all the stops to make him as loud as possible and Lance isn’t the only one thinking that. 

A heavy pounding rings from the other side of the wall.

“Jesus Christ guys!” Keith’s muffled voice carries over.

Lance starts to laugh but it’s knocked out of him in a breathless moan as Shiro pounds even harder into him.

_Shiro, Shiro—oh my god! Fucking come, you’re killing me!_

Shiro’s growling, though not nearly as intimidating as it would have been five minutes ago, before he grasps Lance’s hips tight, pulling him close as he empties inside. 

Shiro’s thoughts are a litany of _mine, mine, mine._

Finally, he pulls out, and Lance can feel a dribble of cum afterwards.

Shiro sits down heavily, wrapping his arm around Lance’s waist as he collapses across the bed. 

Lance groans, a brief twinge of pain shooting up his spine before he settles into Shiro’s side, turning so that they can kiss.

_Care to tell me what that was all about?_

Lance could find out for himself if he really wanted to, _like he doesn’t already know,_ but he wants to let Shiro sort through his feelings on his own first.

Shiro slides his hand up Lance’s back, threading metal fingers into sweaty brown hair so that he can better control their kissing. 

_I don’t like the way that Alpha looks at you._

Lance smiles into the kiss, licking into Shiro’s mouth more aggressively than usual.

_Takashi Shirogane, are you jealous?_

Shiro drops a hand to his hip, pulling firmly until they’re flush and Lance gasps.

_There’s nothing to be jealous of. I just think he’s a dick._

Lance hums before pulling away. Shiro watches him with wide eyes.

“Do you not want to work with them?” He asks seriously and appreciates how Shiro takes his time to genuinely consider the question.

“I don’t know,” he relents. “They have information that we need, and the Blades trust them, which goes a long way.”

Lance nods in agreement.

“But I just…get a vibe. I don’t know, I’m probably being ridiculous,” Shiro runs a hand through his hair, uncharacteristically uncertain. 

“You’re not, Shiro. I trust your intuition. We’ll keep an eye on all of them.”

Shiro nods, still deep in his own head. 

“In the meantime, we’ll do the training with Ryker and prepare for the druid’s base as much as possible.” Lance tries to sound more confident than he feels. 

“Yeah, we will. It’ll be okay, I’m sure.”

Shiro sighs, sitting his head in his hand to look down at Lance.

“When’d you get to be such a grown up?”

“I’ll throw this pillow in your face, do not even start Shirogane.”

+

When Ryker meets them the next morning, he’s sporting a shallow, bloody gash on his cheek. Despite this, he’s smiling and obviously happy to see them all.

Lance and Shiro exchange uneasy looks but say nothing. 

Ryker is small for a male Galra, but he still a pretty big guy and is also quite possibly the scariest person Lance has ever seen fight. 

He uses his size to his advantage – quick, nimble movements meant to subdue or incapacitate.

Keith is in awe. 

“You have to use the druid’s blindness to your advantage, so if multiple people attack a single target, you have a better chance of overwhelming them.”

“Yeah, if you can keep the others off of you,” Pidge retorts and Lance nods in agreement. 

“That’s going to be the hard part, they rarely travel alone, and the second they’re tipped off to our presence, they’ll gang up.”

_Druids fight like wolves, apparently._

Shiro hums in agreement. _That’ll make it easier for us at least._

_Yeah, we just need to instill the hunting instincts born of hundreds of generations of shifters into our non shifting friends. No big deal!_

Ryker continues to instruct them, giving solid advice with helpful pointers sprinkled in. When he corrects them, it’s gentle and respectful. Even Keith is asking him for tips by the end of it.

Once everyone is aching and exhausted but feeling optimistic about their chances against the druids, he calls it a day. 

Keith offers to help clean up, and just generally lingers. 

Lance can feel Shiro’s amusement.

“Oh, um, Lance?” Ryker sounds hesitant, and Lance doesn’t notice the way his eyes flick briefly to Shiro before quickly looking away.

Lance hums inquisitively. 

“I wanted to ask…when did you lose the sight in your left eye?” 

Keith stiffens, and Lance can practically hear Shiro’s growling. He rolls his eyes at both of them before turning to Ryker.

“Not so long ago, a few pheebs maybe.”

Ryker nods. “Yeah, I kind of figured that. Your hindered depth perception is restricting your reflexes.”

Lance frowns. He’s aware of this, but to have someone he doesn’t know point it out so quickly…

Ryker picks up on his mood quickly.

“I’m not saying that to be mean! Actually…I wanted to show you something. I think it might help…”

Lance’s eyebrows lift. “I’m open…”

The other shifter smiles and Lance is once again struck by how sweet and unguarded it is. A quick look at Keith tells him he hasn’t missed that fact either.

“Great! It’s in my room, I’ll just go—”

“I can come by there, maybe after dinner?”

“That sounds good!”

Shiro, who up ‘til now has been merely observing, makes a big show of walking over to Lance and wrapping an arm around his shoulder.

Ryker is quick to blush, a dark amethyst suffusing his cheek, before dropping his eyes respectfully.

That’s the nail in the coffin of Lance’s suspicions. 

“Let’s grab a shower, baby,” Shiro tells him loudly, ignoring Keith’s gagging noises. 

Lance smiles softly, before waving to the others. As they turn to leave, he sees Keith approaching Ryker, clearly hoping to train more.

They make it halfway down the hall before Lance thinks loudly and desperately.

_Ryker is an omega wolf._

The only outward reaction from Shiro is tightening of his hand on Lance’s shoulder.

_We don’t know that they’re wolves. Galra might not even have wolves._

_Maybe they aren’t the same wolves we are, but I think they’re something close. That’s wolf mentality, through and through._

Shiro hums. _He does seem like an omega…and that scratch on his face._

 _Do you think?_ Lance feels his heart break just a little.

_More than likely._

_Oh my god, who even treats omegas like that anymore? What year is this?_

_You remember how I told you that I never encountered a friendly shifter since coming to space?_

Lance turns worried eyes on him. _But those shifters were all in the arena. Fighting for their lives—you don’t think that had anything to do with it?_

Shiro sighs. _Maybe some…but not all of them._

Lance’s thoughts are in turmoil, and Shiro leaves him alone to sort through it all. 

Finally, they make it back to their room – Shiro’s room, really, although almost all of Lance’s stuff is there now, and he hasn’t slept in his own bed since Kito.

Shiro strips Lance of his sweaty training clothes, and though Lance is still distracted by his thoughts, he lifts his arms and steps out of his pants helpfully.

Once they’re in the shower, under the warm cascade of water, Shiro finally speaks.

“We’ll keep an eye on him, Lance, don’t worry.” He cups Lance’s face in his hands, tilting it up to kiss him softly.

“I just… I’ve seen omegas treated like dirt, and it’s so disgusting. The thought that Ryker’s pack would treat him like that…” 

“It’s a difficult position. We need this alliance and we don’t know for sure is going on. But I promise you that if we see anything serious, I’ll intervene.”

Lance presses his face into Shiro’s chest, his face warm at the conviction in his Alpha’s voice.

“You gonna fight that other Alpha on my behalf?”

“I’d fight that other Alpha for a lot less.”

+

He spends the rest of the day lounging in bed, napping and reading on and off. Shiro had kissed his head and wandered off to join the command crew at some point. Lance, on the other hand, is still shaken by his realization – and, if he’s being totally honest with himself, he doesn’t want to risk running into Maeko. 

This is Shiro’s territory, and as the Luna wolf, he technically outranks any other Alpha while within those bounds. Or at least, that’s how it’s supposed to be. Lance has no idea how the Galra wolves conduct themselves, and when it comes down to it, Maeko is an Alpha – able to control lesser wolves if he chooses. Even ones outside of his pack.

Seneka seems nice enough while Juun was still a mystery, and not one he’s all that interested in unraveling. But if Lance is right and Ryker really is an omega, then it means that Seneka and Junn are complicit in the abuse. If not actively, then passively.

Lance skips dinner and is admonished psychically by Shiro – who vows to make him eat later – but he still heads for Ryker’s room afterward.

The other pack is housed one hallway over, which only confirms for Lance that they _definitely_ heard him and Shiro the night before.

Lance blushes and feels a surge of satisfaction from Shiro.

_Oh, don’t start._

He knocks on what he thinks is Ryker’s door, and is startled by how quickly it opens. 

The petite Galra stands in the doorway, smiling welcomingly.

“Come in!” Ryker steps backwards to allow him room to enter.

Lance is immediately assaulted with the scent of Maeko, and it raises goosebumps on his skin, flooding him with adrenaline. 

If Ryker notices this, he doesn’t say anything. His attention is fully on rummaging through his closet, which is already organized neatly.

He crows happily when he finally finds what he’s looking for and turns around to present it.

It’s a vacuum sealed bag, with something soft and dark in it. 

“I had the thought that if you can’t rely on your full scope of vision, then your sense of smell is the next best thing. Your, um, sense of smell is strong right? That’s a shifter thing with humans too?”

Lance frowns at the sudden nervousness in his tone. Ryker is clearly torn between his desire to help and being afraid of overstepping his bounds. A common omega trait. 

“Yeah, we do. Actually…mine has been a lot stronger since I lost my eyesight. My hearing too.”

“Yeah, that’s pretty common from what I understand…” He trails off, as if lost in thought before brightening again. “Well! Open that and get a good whiff.”

Lance raises one perfectly sculpted brow but does as he’s told. The second the bag is open, he raises it up carefully and sniffs the inside.

The fabric, whatever it is, has a very distinct scent. It’s dark and sort of earthy, a bit like rain and wet dirt, but there’s something else too…something chemical. 

Either way, it’s not a smell he’ll soon forget.

“What is this?”

“It’s a druid’s cloak.”

Lance almost drops it in his surprise and clutches it tightly to his chest to stop that from happening. In doing so, it releases another burst of the scent, right into his face.

He sneezes.

“I just thought—If you can’t always see the druids coming then smelling them is the next best thing.”

Lance is grossed out, sniffing a druid’s cloak like a pervert sniffing panties, but he’s also incredibly touched. 

“Thanks Ryker.”

There’s that blush again. 

“Well, you can take it back with you. You’ll get a better feel for the scent in your true form. Just keep the bag sealed as much as possible.”

Lance nods, zipping it closed. 

Ryker continues shyly. “It’s a shame you can’t shift for the training. I’d love to see what Earth shifters look like!”

Lance laughs. “Well, never say never. Can’t say I’m not dying of curiosity about Galra shifters. Are you guys…common?”

Ryker shakes his head. “Not really, though most Galra know about the existence of shifters, no one really talks about it.”

“Really?”

Ryker looks away nervously, before looking back to Lance. 

“Well, the empire’s all about strength and purity. Shifter’s aren’t really seen as pure. They’re less than half-breeds in the eyes of the empire.”

Lance whistles low. “Well, that’s why we gotta stop those fuckers. So that you can live loud and proud.”

“Loud and…?”

“Human expression, never mind. Anyway, I gotta get back to Shiro.”

“He seems like a good Alpha. Even to the other paladins.”

Lance smiles, though it’s slightly sad. He can hear the wistfulness in Ryker’s voice.

“He really is. I hope you get to know him better while you’re here.”

“Me, too.”

+

“How can someone so sweet be so determined to see us die?”

Pidge is pouring sweat, her hair drooping over her eyes, as she pants like a racehorse. 

“He doesn’t want to see us die, that’s why he’s working us so hard,” Keith defends.

“Yeah okay, let me hear from someone who doesn’t have a massive crush on Ryker, please.”

Keith scoffs, offended, but his cheeks growing slightly pink do nothing for his case. 

“I don’t have a crush on him!” He whispers it, like he hopes Ryker won’t hear. 

The omega wolf is currently engaged with Shiro, slipping masterfully out of the proximity of the short sword the black bayard is currently form as with ease.

“You don’t have to lie to us Keith,” Lance leans into their conversation. “We’ll always love you no matter what.”

“Oh my god, I hate you guys.”

They’ve been training with Ryker for about a week now, and while Lance can agree that it’s torturous, he is aware of how much they’ve all been improving. 

Ryker is adept at teaching to all of them individually, taking everyone’s strengths and weakness into consideration.

He’s really the only one of the other pack that interacts with them, though occasionally the sentinel Juun joins them for breakfast. He never speaks, but Lance gets the feeling he’s there to keep an eye on Ryker – whether he’s being made to or he wants to, Lance isn’t sure. 

There’s only one other occasion that Ryker shows up injured, a wound in his shoulder that’s covered by the tight catsuit he wears. Lance only knows it’s there because he can smell fresh blood and sees the way Ryker is favoring his left side during training. 

He feels a surge of rage at the realization, and Shiro is quick to grab his hand comfortingly. 

_It’s not our pack—not our decision._

Lance looks up at him helplessly. _So we just don’t help him? Since when is that how we do things?_

Lance can feel Shiro’s distress and feels bad for compounding it, but it’s frustrating to watch. 

_I know baby, but this isn’t Voltron’s business. Packs have different rules. If it gets serious, I’ll intervene but this alliance is important._

Lance doesn’t like it, but he lets the subject drop. He knows as well as Shiro that there’s no way to intervene without outing themselves as well.

He tries to invite Ryker to hang out with them as much as possible, to keep him away from his pack, and ignores the feelings of warning coming through the link.

They’re alone one night, standing on foam mats in the observatory, when he finally asks. 

“How long has Maeko been your Alpha?”

Ryker pauses, before quickly dipping smoothly into warrior two pose. Lance reaches out and puts a hand on his thigh to correct him.

“Oh uh, forever, really.” 

He’s watching Lance, waiting for him to move into the next position, and Lance straightens his front knee and touches one hand to the floor while the other reaches for the sky.

“Move into half-moon pose,” Lance watches him do so. He’s enjoying finally having someone on the ship who will do yoga with him and Ryker is picking it up beautifully. “So since you were young?”

Ryker exhales slowly and nods. “Yeah, Maeko is my older brother.”

Lance only barely hides his shocked expression by lifting his back leg straight up and dropping his head low. 

Ryker follows suit.

“Oh, wow…” Lance can think of literally nothing else to say. It’s one thing to treat a random omega like shit – lots of wolves still hold to the ridiculous stereotype that omegas are inferior – but to treat your own brother like that?

Lance thinks of his cousin Amelia, the only omega wolf in their pack. No one ever treated her as anything less than an equal and if anyone had, Lance wouldn’t be the first to punch them right in the face.

“Seneka has been with us for a really long time, but Juun joined us only a few decapheebs ago.”

Lance brings himself back to the present. He looks over to find Ryker has been holding the half-moon pose for far too long, so he drops his own leg and motions for the omega to do the same. 

Lance turns to the side and lifts his arms into warrior three. 

“Seneka seems nice…” Lance offers. 

He can’t see the look on Ryker’s face, but he hears the hesitation in his voice. 

“She’s…a great beta to Maeko,” he finally replies then drops the pose and turns to Lance, and this time when he speaks it’s brighter. “Juun is really wonderful. I found him fighting in the arenas and he kind of just followed me home.”

Lance raises a scarred eyebrow in surprise. So Juun _was_ keeping an eye on him. 

“That’s good. It’s important to have someone in your pack that you’re close with.”

Ryker smiles and they both move to the floor, folding their legs into lotus position. 

“So are you and Juun…” 

Ryker blushes, dark purple splotches on his high cheekbones. 

“Oh no, no. Juun and I would never, just no.” 

Lance can’t help laughing at the other shifter’s vehemence. 

“I love Juun, but just—no. Besides, Maeko would never let me.”

There it is again. Another stupid old-fashioned wolf custom, the omega needing permission from the Alpha to mate – or live at all, if you asked Lance.

“He doesn’t like Juun for you?” Lance keeps his voice neutral, leading him.

“Oh, well… Maeko just doesn’t want to see the omega gene passed on so…you know.”

It’s the first time he’s said it out loud, and it’s almost whispered, embarrassed. 

Lance snorts in annoyance, and Ryker looks up, startled. 

“That’s so fucking stupid, that’s not even how it works.” 

Ryker’s ears lie flat against his head in surprise. “Really?”

“Yeah, and even if it were, there’s nothing wrong with being an omega wolf. Omegas are _supposed_ to breed! Your brother is a dumbass.”

 _Lance!_ Shiro’s voice in his head is hard and Lance cuts it off, closing the link.

Wide fluorescent eyes scan the room quickly, nervous.

“He’s not—Maeko is a great Alpha, and my brother, so—"

“Just because he’s your brother doesn’t mean he can treat you like that, Ryker.”

Ryker’s eye flash, his face creasing with anxiety. “He treats me fine, I don’t know—”

“Then why do you keep showing up hurt in the mornings, are you gonna tell me you tripped and fell?”

The omega wolf is distressed, Lance can smell it on him. For the first time ever, he’s picking up on the sugary sweet scent of an omega wolf that’s been hidden under Maeko’s heavy scent.

Ryker is rattled, and Lance is just about to relent, about to apologize for his words when the door to the observatory slides open.

Maeko stands there in the threshold, looking furious.

Lance feels Ryker shrink down beside him, his ears flat and his eyes on the ground, but it’s not him Maeko is looking at. He’s flooding the room with Alpha pheromones and Lance himself is fighting the urge to cower. Scared, he releases the hold on his link and is assaulted with Shiro’s panicked feelings.

“I think I’ve let you two spend enough time together,” Maeko’s voice is low and dangerous and Lance swallows. 

“He didn’t mean—” Ryker starts timidly only to be interrupted. 

“I’ll deal with you later, right now I’d like a word with your…friend here.”

Lance gathers his strength, sitting up and straightening his shoulders. He may be a lesser wolf but he’s not going to let some Alpha walk all over him.

“Lance is none of your concern,” Shiro’s voice cuts in, and he pushes through the doorway to walk around the other Alpha. 

Shiro reaches down and pulls Lance up by the hand, subtly stepping in front of him. In any other situation Lance would be annoyed at being _protected_ like this, but now he just clutches at the back of Shiro’s shirt, looking at Maeko over Shiro’s shoulder.

Maeko watches them with steady eyes, before pointing at Ryker and motioning to the hall. 

The omega wolf is up and out of the room without looking at anyone, and Lance feels a rush of sorrow for what he’s sure Ryker is going to endure for this. For Lance interfering. 

“You’re young, so I’ll let this slide,” Maeko bites and Lance feels a rumbling in Shiro’s chest, a growl building. “Learn to control your Luna.”

Without another word or even a glance at Lance, he turns and leaves. 

Lance is frozen, afraid to turn his attention to the link or to say anything that might upset Shiro further. 

Shiro takes the decision out of his hands, whirling around to pull Lance into a hug so tight it borders on painful. 

“What were you thinking, Lance? Did you _forget_ they have a psychic link?” 

Lance shakes his head as much as he can in their current position.

_I’m sorry, I just—Ryker talks like it’s normal and it’s so not—_

“I know,” Shiro’s fingers move into Lance hair and it’s only then that Lance realizes he’s shaking. “I love how much you care about other people, Lance, it’s a really wonderful part of you. But this isn’t your place, okay?”

He pulls Lance’s head back so that they can make eye contact and Lance nods solemnly.

“When all of this is said and done, maybe…I don’t know, we can try and help Ryker somehow. But right now, our main objective is taking down the druids.”

Lance nods again. This is a lot like being chastised by his mom but somehow feels so much worse. 

_I’m so worried about him Shiro. I probably got him into so much trouble…_

“We’ll keep an eye on him,” Shiro assures him, but Lance can feel that he’s concerned too. He presses a kiss to Lance’s neck, rubbing his face into the crook. 

_Don’t cut me off like that again, Lance. I was really scared._

And now Lance feels even more awful. Tonight has been a disaster. 

“Let’s go to bed, baby, come on.”

+

Ryker avoids Lance after that night. 

Sometimes he shoots Lance apologetic glances, but he never approaches him, so he knows Maeko told him to stay away. 

Maeko continues to ignore most of them, but now and then Lance catches Juun watching him, silent as ever. 

Training continues though. Ryker moves on from combat to attempting to teach them to suppress their quintessence. 

“Quintessence is in all of us, no matter what we are or where we come from. It’s a harness-able energy source, that can be manipulated within the body.”

The paladins are all seated in a circle with Ryker, who is seated as far from Lance as he can possibly be without being directly across from him. 

Keith is seated right by him, Lance notes.

_Keith and Ryker, sitting in a tree…_

Shiro covers his laugh with a cough.

It’s true though. Keith is smitten and everyone but their guests know it. 

_Keith_ would find the one person more oblivious than he is. Lance thinks cattily.

_Don’t be mean. I think it’s cute._

Yeah, it’s cute if you don’t consider the fact that Ryker wouldn’t be allowed to reciprocate even if he wanted to. 

He feels Shiro deflate a little and pushes affection through the link as an apology. 

“The ability to suppress your quintessence is a lot like centering yourself. If you’re familiar with meditation, it may come to you naturally.” 

Lance watches as everyone in the group sits up straighter, legs folded and palms on their knees. 

“I held off on teaching this for so long because it’s really hard to do, even for those who meditate regularly. But to start, breathe in deep and hold for a couple ticks, then release.”

All of them do so, breathing in and out slowly, as they try to _find their center._

It only takes about twenty minutes before Lance is restless, fidgeting minutely.

_My ADHD ass can’t take this._

_From the guy who does yoga every night?_

_That’s just so you can stare at my ass, don’t act like you don’t know._

Shiro grins, eyes still closed. 

Surprisingly, Lance is not the first to break.

“I don’t think I’m cut out for meditation.” It comes from Pidge but there’s a ripple of agreement from the others. 

Even Shiro seems relieved that the silence has been broken.

Ryker smiles. “It’s okay, it takes a long time to master. I’m not sure how much longer it’ll be to the druid’s base, but maybe everyone can practice on their own. It’s really all I have left to show you.”

Keith looks slightly stricken at the thought that their morning trainings have come to an end, so Lance quickly interjects.

“Well maybe Keith will get it! He loves to meditate, don’t you Keith?” Lance looks at him knowingly and Keith blushes but is quick to jump on the opportunity.

“Oh, uh, yeah! I mean…if you don’t mind, it would be cool—I still want to try—”

 _Disaster gay._ Shiro thinks and Lance laughs out loud. 

Everyone looks at him, including Keith, who clearly thinks Lance is laughing at him.

Which technically he kind of is.

Lance waves them off and Ryker smiles at Keith and agrees to continue helping him.

Everyone generously ignores the open joy on Keith’s face.

“God it’s like watching a puppy with his first tennis ball,” Pidge tells them once they’re all out in the hallway, Keith still with Ryker.

“It’s so sweet, Keith’s never been interested in anyone!” Hunk practically has heart eyes and Pidge gags dramatically.

Lance rolls his eyes. “I’m sure he’s been interested in people, we’ve just never seen it.”

“Actually, Keith doesn’t really go in for crushes. I wasn’t even sure if he was into people uh… _that way.”_

As one, Pidge, Hunk and Lance all hold their hands up in finger quotations mimicking ‘that way.’ 

Shiro rolls his eyes and pushes Lance, unbalancing him.

“They did it too!”

+

It’s been awhile since Lance has shifted and he’s on edge because of it. 

He’s pacing back and forth, ignoring the worried looks from Shiro who is lying in their bed, trying to read. Lance isn’t sure why he hasn’t shifted, but something is stopping him. There’s something at the back of his head, a gnawing worry that won’t go away.

“We could shift together?” Shiro sets down his book, giving up the pretense of reading.

“Yeah…maybe,” Lance says distractedly. 

“I could leave you alone?” 

Lance waves him off, still pacing. All that time on Kito had reminded him of how much he loved running and hunting. Trying to adjust back to his routine of shifting quietly in his room had been made easier with the addition of Shiro, but it was still not enough.

_Maybe it’s the knowledge that we have other shifters on the ship that is making you so restless._

Lance sighs, moving to the bed to straddle his Alpha. Shiro moves to accommodate him, sliding large, rough hands up his exposed thighs. 

“Have I told you how much I enjoy these…let’s be kind and call them…shorts?” Shiro asks, toying with the rather high hem. 

“Only every time I wear them,” Lance smiles, leaning down to be cuddled properly. “And they’re still shorts, even if they’re tiny.”

Shiro pulls tight on the cloth, straining it across Lance’s round, bouncy ass.

“If you say so.”

Lance nips playfully at his bare chest and the mood changes, Shiro rolling them both until he’s above Lance and can more easily press kisses to his throat.

“Is this where you tell me they’d look better on your floor?” Lance breathes, his head tossed back to give room.

“No, I think I’ll leave them on you,” he’s sliding down, lifting Lance’s baggy tee-shirt – Shiro’s shirt actually – to suck fat, dark hickeys across his stomach.

Lance squirms away, giggling, until Shiro tugs the hem of his shorts over, pulling his half hard dick out of the leg.

He looks down in surprise when Shiro licks across the tip while he’s still fully dressed.

“Okay, maybe they are small.”

Shiro huffs a laugh, dropping his mouth lower to take more of Lance in. 

Lance isn’t _huge_ by any means but he’s big enough to feel the soft stretch of Shiro’s throat as the Alpha swallows him down.

“Fuck,” he reaches out to grip Shiro’s hair, the black and white strands pulled tight in his fingers as he guides Shiro’s mouth. 

Lance would like to be romantic and insist that the best part of being psychically linked is that they know and understand each other fully. That they can share thoughts over long distances, can literally revel in each other’s joy and empathize with their pain.

And those parts _are_ amazing.

But the best part is the sex.

He’d wondered about it, when he’d been a teenager. When he’d gotten old enough to realize those time that he could feel intense love and happiness, too fuzzy to quite make out, people in his pack were indulging in carnal acts while also shielding themselves through the link. He’d wondered what it would be like.

Now, he understands.

The ability to feel the act through his own senses and the senses of his Alpha, his _mate._ An unending cycle of stimulatory feedback. It’s overwhelming and earth-shattering and overall unmatched.

It’s also great because the other person picks up on exactly what is enjoyable or not and can respond accordingly. 

Lance credits this for what he’s come to think of as the best blow jobs to ever happen in the history of anything. 

_You’re thinking too much._ Shiro interrupts, his mouth still hot and warm, tongue applying the perfect amount of pressure in precisely the right spot. 

_Just about how fucking amazing you are, fuu—ck, Shiro, keep going, keep going._

His eyes are squeezed closed, his fingers gripping the sheets on either side of his head when Shiro slides his hand up, pulling the shorts even tighter to the left to softly press a finger to the rim of his hole.

Lance grabs for Shiro’s hair lightning fast, holding him still as he spills into his mouth.

Shiro swallows everything and Lance is awash in a glow of secondhand pride. He’d swat Shiro if his hands were cooperating, but they aren’t so instead he just pictures it.

Shiro snorts a laugh and re-straightens his soft shorts. He moves to lie next to Lance, pulling him in tight to kiss sloppily.

 _Lemme just…_ Lance tries to move, half-heartedly pushing at Shiro’s chest and Shiro holds tight and shakes his head, humming into the kiss.

_Nah, I’m fine._

His hard cock pressing into Lance says otherwise but Shiro mentally brushes him off, repositioning them both into a more comfortable cuddle.

Lance wants to argue but Shiro is running his fingers through his hair rhythmically and he’s drowning in a mixture of their relaxed contentment. 

He doesn’t even hear Shiro whisper goodnight across the link.

+

Lance wakes up a few hours later and his skin is crawling with the need to shift. 

It hasn’t been long enough to develop moon sickness, he’s pretty sure, but he feels sluggish and irritable anyway. 

Shiro is dead asleep, one arm thrown over his eye and the other tucked into the elastic of his sweatpants. 

Lance looks around desperately for his coms tab to snap a photo before getting up to use the toilet. 

Once he’s peed and downed an entire bottle of water, he starts to pace. 

He considers waking Shiro. He knows he won’t mind, would welcome it even. But he’s sleeping so soundly and while that’s more common now that Lance is around, it’s still too precious to interrupt. 

He could shift, but there’s that feeling again. The one that’s telling him not to, that if he does he’ll get in trouble somehow. It’s like the caution he’d felt from his parents. The one he sometimes felt from Shiro. If there’s one thing Lance knows, it’s to trust his instincts.

Still, he needs to burn off some of this energy keeping him awake. 

Pressing a kiss to Shiro’s hair, Lance wanders into the hall, clad only in booty shorts and a too large tee-shirt. 

He walks around the ship, meandering through random hallways until he’s almost turned around. Lance would be concerned about getting lost – the Castle of Lions is huge after all – except that the warm buzz of Shiro’s consciousness sits at the back of his mind like a homing beacon.

He’s been wandering for a while, and he’s finally starting to feel tired enough to sleep again, when he hears a noise. 

Lance pauses, straining his ears to pick up on something more. His newly enhanced sense of hearing pays off when there comes another sound, this one slightly lower.

On tiptoes, Lance moves silently towards the room he’s pretty sure it’s coming from. It’s one of many spare rooms on the ship, an old office or possibly classroom. The castle had once held an entire city of people and they were currently using only a fraction of the space. 

To hear something here…

Pressing his ear against the door, Lance holds his breath.

It’s _giggling._

Soft and playful, interspersed with wet smacks and pops. It’s…

_Oh my god!_

_Hmpgh?_

_Shh! Go back to sleep!_

Lance listens hard, hand pressed over this mouth. Whoever is inside is talking, but it’s so soft Lance can barely make it out.

_Lance, what are you doing, why aren’t you in bed?_

Lance ignores him, scooting as closely to the door as possible. There’s more giggling, until it turns into a soft moan. 

_Are you seriously eavesdropping? Do I need to come get you?_

_Let me live!_

But really, Lance is about to give up. Whoever is in there is too quiet to hear, and he’s only catching one voice that he can’t really recognize. It could be anyone, there’s a host of people on the ship whose voices he isn’t familiar with. Hell, one voice he hasn’t even _heard—_

“Shit—” It’s choked off—clearly not on purpose, but it’s enough for Lance _and_ Shiro to figure out who it is.

_Keith!_

_Come back to bed, right now._

_But he has to be in there with Ryker! What if Maeko finds out? You know he will!_

_And do you want to be standing there when he does? Ryker is smart, it’s late, Maeko’s probably asleep and won’t recognize the bond is closed._

_Are we just going to take that risk?_

_Lance, I’m serious. Come to bed. Now._

It’s growled with the weight of Alpha command and Lance has no choice but to comply.

Shiro’s right, really. It’s not his place to interfere and he doesn’t want to insinuate he doesn’t trust Keith, or even Ryker.

But he’s still nervous walking away from that room.

When he gets back to the black paladin’s quarters, Shiro is standing outside the door, arms crossed. His eyes are narrowed.

“I know, I know,” Lance heads him off. 

Shiro untenses immediately, expression falling into one of concern. 

“I don’t know why you’re worrying so much, Lance.”

Lance walks directly into Shiro’s arms, wrapping his arms around the Alpha’s waist and burying his face into his chest. He rubs his temple against Shiro’s collarbone, in an apology.

“I dunno,” he says against warm skin. “I’m just so on edge lately.”

“I know, baby,” Shiro assures him, hugging him tighter. 

And he does know. Lance can feel it. 

Suddenly, Lance feels like crying and Shiro pulls back in shock, grabbing his shoulders to look at his face.

“Luna?” 

Lance shakes his head, eyes squeezed closed until the feeling passes.

“I just need to sleep, that’s all it is.”

Shiro is skeptical but Lance ignores him, and together they return to bed, where Lance lies awake all night.

+

Keith is in such a good mood lately, and Lance is desperate to confront him but restrains himself.

If he didn’t know better, he’d think Keith almost _wants_ him to ask. If not that, he’s at least weirdly surprised by Lance’s lack of prying.

Lance distracts himself from everything by spending more time with Hunk.

He’s sitting on a barstool watching the yellow paladin measure out what looks _sort of_ like flour, except it’s light green.

“That’s flour?”

Hunk laughs. “Actually it’s _flower_ with a W, but it works pretty well for cookies. I don’t need any baking powder at least.”

“What kind of cookies?” Lance asks, as he sticks his finger into a mystery substance and scoops out red goop into his mouth.

“Do you know what kind of risks your taking right now?” 

Lance looks up with wide eyes, finger still in his mouth. “Yes?”

Hunk rolls his eyes and turns back to the pseudo-oven. “You’re lucky that’s basically jam. I’m making an attempt at Linzer cookies. Minus the powdered sugar, ‘cause I still haven’t found anything close enough.”

Lance says nothing and scoops more ‘jam’ into his mouth. 

“Everything okay, Lance?” 

He hums, still sucking sticky sweetness off of his index finger. 

Hunk turns worried eyes his way as he buries his hands into the dough to knead. 

“Everything okay with Shiro?”

Lance pulls his finger out with a pop.

“Of course! We’re like, super in love, things are great.”

Hunk smiles. “That’s good. Not that I couldn’t already tell. We all can.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah dude, you’re always smiling at each other and laughing at stuff that none of us are in on. It’s like you share a brain. It’s cute.”

 _We are cute._ Shiro interjects.

_Hey, keep your eyes on that training droid!_

His amusement is warm and Lance smiles.

“Just like that!” Hunk crows. “It’s beautiful.”

“Oh my god, Hunk it’s not that big of a deal.”

“Yes it is! Hand me that butter—You found love in the midst of war, in space! What’s more beautiful than that?”

Lance feels himself blushing, but he can’t stop smiling.

“Okay, I guess it’s pretty cool,” he relents and Hunk huffs in disbelief. “Okay, fine, it’s beautiful! Shiro is beautiful and I’m just basking in his light like a pleb.”

_Aww, babe._

_Eyes on the enemy!_

Lance feels him barely dodge a blow to the back of his head and rolls his eyes. 

“Enough about me, let’s talk about Keith!”

Hunk looks up in confusion. “What about Keith? I thought he was with Shiro right now.”

“He is, but that’s not what I’m talking about. I mean the whole blushy, smiley mess he’s been lately.”

“What’s there to say? Our boy has got it bad.”

“So me and Shiro are old news, let’s talk about Keith’s crush—”

“Keith’s what?” Allura asks, walking into the room. Maeko and Seneka are behind her. 

The Alpha wolf looks at Lance like he’s a bug under his shoe and Lance narrows his eyes back. 

“Keith has a crush on Ryker!” Hunk says, before Lance can stop him.

_Oh god._

Lance actually feels Shiro take the full weight of a training droid, its blade slicing shallowly across his cheek, as he comes to a complete halt.

“Hunk, what are you—no he doesn’t, don’t be—you’re being—ridiculous is what you’re being!”

Now everyone in the room is staring at Lance like he’s lost his marbles.

“But you just said—” Hunk’s face is creased in confusion and Lance throws wide eyes his way. “Oh uh, sorry totally um…misheard? Keith has a crush on Ryner!”

Oh my god.

Allura looks as confused as any of them. “The leader of the Olkari?”

“Yeah um, that’s the one. He thinks she’s really…hot.”

Down in the training room Shiro is already in tears, waving Keith away as he tries to breathe through his laughter.

_I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t—oh my god._

Meanwhile Lance is trying not to punch Hunk for the kind of awful, but much needed save, while also not reacting in a way that will tip off Maeko. 

He’s failing miserably. 

“Did you guys want some cookies? Is that why you came in here, cause they’re not done yet, but I’m sure when they are—they’ll be delicious.” 

He’s babbling, it’s his only defense. Everyone is watching him in various degrees of bewilderment, except for Hunk who is blushing and throwing himself back into baking.

“Cookies! You ever had them? I mean, Allura, obviously you have, I’ve seen you eat them! M-Maeko? Or uh, Seneka? You ever had…cookies?”

 _Smoooooth._

“I’m not sure what a cookie is…” Seneka offers politely. 

Maeko remains quiet, looking at him now like he’s a squished bug on the bottom of his shoe that needs to be scraped off.

Hunk launches into an in-depth discussion on cookies and all the different types, Seneka asking questions politely. Allura, though, is looking at Lance with a question on her face.

Lance looks to her and shakes his head minutely, and they put the matter aside for the moment. 

“Well, I’ll let you guys get back to whatever it was you were doing…I’m just gonna—go.” Lance tries not to run once his back is to the group.

That was _way_ too close.

+

Lance is fairly positive things are still going on between Keith and Ryker, but he doesn’t want to bring it up and risk exposing them. 

He doesn’t imagine the way Keith tracks the omega wolf’s movements whenever they’re all in a room together. And he certainly doesn’t imagine the way Ryker’s cheeks flush any time he and Keith exchange words.

And neither does Maeko.

Lance isn’t sure how Ryker’s keeping it from the Alpha. Lance knows from experience that while it’s not impossible to hide things from pack members, it’s always obvious that something is being hidden.

It’s possible their link is different than the one shared by Lance and Shiro, but he doubts it.

_You’re being obvious._

Shiro tells him this gently as he reaches for the piece of paper Lance is currently shredding mindlessly. 

Lance shoots him a grateful look and laces their fingers.

Everyone is on the bridge, Allura and Maeko going over the final plans for the infiltration mission. 

“We’re coming up on the druid’s base, only a few quintents until we arrive. We’ve dropped down to a pace slow enough to avoid detection, and with Pidge’s cloaking we should be able to approach completely unseen.” Allura informs them.

“It’s imperative that we enter the base undetected, once we’re inside, it will be a matter of subduing the druids as we encounter them, but if they’re alerted before we’re in, the mission has failed.” Maeko’s voice sounds as if he already knows they’re going to fail.

Lance wonders how Kolivan knows the shifter pack. If he and Maeko go back, if he’s aware of the slightly abusive relationship between the Alpha and omega. 

Kolivan trusts him though, and Keith apparently does too, if the way he’s listening respectfully to the older Galra’s plan is any indication. 

It’s likely Ryker hasn’t told Keith anything regarding their relationship. Keith isn’t the type to see other’s suffering and let it go easily.

A mental nudge from Shiro jolts Lance into paying attention.

“Juun and Seneka will need the most coverage while accessing the mainframe and dismantling communications. Keith and Shiro will be with them.”

Seneka looks at them both. “The code we’re implementing is specific to the druid’s base and requires two sequences entered in perfect synchronicity. It’s imperative that you ensure we’re not disturbed during the process.”

“You got it,” Shiro assures her while Keith nods in agreement.

“Once communications are down, the defenses will be easily managed. Pidge is in charge of that, with Hunk and Ryker at her back.”

Allura turns to Lance last. “As our marksmen, you and Maeko will be stationed on the roof of the facility to keep an eye on any possible interferences and provide cover for both teams.”

_I’m with Maeko? Seriously?_

Shiro turns sympathetic eyes his way but doesn’t respond. Lance can tell he isn’t happy about it either, but strategy outweighs personal feelings in this matter.

_You’ll be teamed up, but you don’t have to stay together._

Maeko doesn’t deign to spare Lance a look, his attention on whatever Pidge is saying about her task. 

That skin crawling feeling of fighting his desire to shift washes over him. Shiro squeezes his hand.

Lance spends the rest of the meeting stubbornly refusing to pay attention in protest. He can feel Shiro’s exasperation, but he doesn’t care.

When it’s over, he ducks smoothly out of the room the second Allura has Shiro’s attention. He can feel the concern, the way Shiro is only just holding back on commanding him to stay, but he ignores it.

“They’re putting me with Maeko? Are you serious?” He turns to Keith, who is walking behind him, as if he has the answers. 

Keith makes a face. “Why are you so upset about it?”

“That dude is a straight asshole, Keith, he looks at me like I’m trash.”

He wants to punch the red paladin when he rolls his eyes. 

“You’re being dramatic, he’s just comes off hard. Half the Blades are the same way, look at Kolivan!”

Lance spins around and grabs Keith tightly by the wrist, maybe harder than necessary. He needs Keith to understand how serious he’s being. 

“Maeko is _nothing_ like Kolivan, and I don’t trust him to watch my back at all.”

Keith looks down at Lance’s fingers pressing hard into his skin, his eyes wide. “Okay, so what if he’s a dick, he’s not gonna let you get attacked. Why are you making him into this bad guy?”

Lance narrows his eyes and releases Keith’s wrist. 

“Where do you think all of Ryker’s injuries come from? The training deck? Do you ever see him getting hurt?”

Keith steps back, rocked. “What are you saying?”

“Why don’t you go ask your boyfriend?” Lance spits, flushing with impotent anger as he turns and stalks off.

_Was that necessary?_

Lance closes the link viciously, cutting Shiro off.

He’s so furious, he can feel the warmth of anger across his cheeks, flowing through his blood. The desire to shift is overwhelming, pulsing inside of him, relentless. 

Lance doesn’t make it very far, pushing his hands through his hair as he leans against the wall to breath.

He’s upset, and he’s channeling it into anger because anything less would be to admit that when it comes down to it – he’s scared.

This mission is already going to be difficult, but now he has to worry about the guy he’s pretty sure would be happy to see him dive head first off one of those roofs.

But beyond that, Maeko just makes him so _nervous._

It’s the reason he hasn’t shifted the entire time they’ve been on the ship. He’s scared of what might happen when he’s in his natural form as a lesser wolf. Maeko is the type of wolf to press his advantage, and he won’t risk taking the form that is more susceptible to his influence.

It’s stupid, he knows it is. He’d never shift outside of his room, and he _knows_ Shiro would be there, would keep him safe.

But still… 

Lance sighs, pulling at the slightly too long strands of his hair. He’s going to have to ask Hunk for a haircut soon. 

He decides to head towards where he thinks the yellow paladin will be, tension slowly draining from his body, when he hears a harsh voice not too far away.

Wandering closer to the sound, his instincts are in overdrive until more severe whispering brings him to the horrifying realization – Keith is confronting Ryker.

 _Oh my god,_ Lance thinks loudly, forgetting completely that the link is still closed and Shiro can’t hear him.

He picks up the pace, slapping his hand against the unlock panel on the door he can hear the voices through. They’re in the fucking lounge! Where anyone could walk in on them. 

The second the door begins to slide open, they’re finally clear enough to understand.

“—this why you’re so worried about him finding out about us? Do you think I would let him hurt you?” Lance knows Keith well enough to detect the blatant worry in his voice, but he isn’t sure Ryker can hear anything but anger and disappointment. 

“Keith—we can’t, you have to stop talking!”

Lance pushes his way through the half opened door – he _swears_ the hydraulic slide has never been _this slow._

Ryker has his back against the wall, holding a sharply clawed hand to his chest. If Lance didn’t know better, he’d think Keith was the one attacking him by the way the red paladin is invading his space. 

“He’s not even here Ryker, why can’t you talk to me about this? After everything else—” 

Lance cuts him off, pushing Keith out of the way. He grabs Ryker by the hand, hauling him close.

“Please tell me the link is closed!” 

Ryker shakes his head, looking to Keith anxiously, before finally making eye contact with Lance.

“I don’t know! It is now but I don’t know what he heard, and I’ve _never_ closed the bond while Maeko is awake, he’s going to know!”

“What the fuck, Lance?” Keith moves to pull him off Ryker but Lance merely spins, putting himself between the two. 

“How have you been blocking the memories during the day then?” He can’t help shaking Ryker a little bit in frustration. Why would he even take the risk with Keith if he wasn’t better prepared to hide it? 

Ryker’s eyes drop to the floor, a show of submission Lance isn’t used to receiving. 

“I focus on other things,” his eyes shoot back up beseechingly. “I know how to hide from him. I’ve been doing it for decapheebs!”

“Oh, have you?” It comes from the doorway and Lance watches as the omega wolf in front of him actually pales to a soft lavender. Lance let’s go and Ryker drops to his knees, head bowed.

Keith tries to move to his side but Lance shoulders him away, turning them both to face Maeko while simultaneously putting them between the Alpha and omega. 

He tries to fight Lance but only until he sees the anger in the older Galra, then he’s straightening up – his battle reflexes at the forefront.

Maeko doesn’t seem to be interested in Ryker though, or Keith for that matter. He has eyes only for Lance. 

Lance watches him and tries to keep his breathing even. He maintains eye contact, despite every ounce of his being urging him to submit as the Alpha stalks closer. 

“You can’t control him forever,” is all Lance manages to get out before Maeko is grabbing the front of his shirt with both hands, lifting him high. 

Keith gasps and starts to rush at their attacker, but he’s stopped by something, whether Ryker or Maeko, Lance can’t tell.

He’s too busy struggling. 

Not just against Maeko’s hold on his person but his hold on his senses. 

“You think you get to tell me how to run my pack?” He shakes Lance, who whimpers, the wolf noise pouring oddly from his human form. “How to handle _my omega?”_

Lance tenses, reaching up to hold tightly to Maeko’s arms and give himself leverage. When he kicks out, he knows it connects but it might as well not have from all the reaction it gets. 

“You don’t own him, he’s not your fucking omega,” Lance grits, before he makes the biggest mistake of this whole day. 

He tilts his head back and spits directly into Maeko’s face.

Behind him, Ryker gasps and Lance can hear Keith struggle to reach out for him. 

Maeko is only momentarily frozen, before his eyes narrow and he drops Lance without warning. 

There’s a loud crack as Lance’s knees hit the ground, the tremors pulsing through his bones until his teeth click shut loudly.

“Your Alpha clearly has no ability to control you,” Maeko says, wiping his face. “But I’ll help you remember your place, little Luna.”

Lance looks up with wide, frightened eyes to see him looking down, gloating. 

He doesn’t have time to process the sentiment behind that smirk when he feels it. 

Like simmering water just before it boils, his body vibrates with tension, his blood rushing through his veins. 

Lance has only felt this once before – when Shiro tried to force him to shift. That had been alarming, his body obeying commands that were not his own, but it hadn’t been like this.

This was _disgusting._ Like foreign hands touching his naked soul, molesting his very essence.

Lance falls forward onto his hands, his chest heaving until he’s coughing up sour, foamy bile. 

He can hear Ryker yelling behind him, maybe Keith too, it’s hard to make out over the buzzing that is building in his ears.

 _Where’s Shiro? Shiro, Shiro, Shiro!_ Lance gasps, curling his fingers into his palm, scratching his nails against the floor until they snag and tear. 

The pain snaps him out of it enough to open the link and Lance is slammed with the feeling of Shiro’s anger and concern. 

He sobs, too distraught to think straight, and his skin ripples as he feels the shift – something that is usually so natural, so enjoyable, made shameful and dirty. 

Shiro’s emotions turn on a dime and Lance can almost hear him screaming in his head, but he isn’t sure anymore, Maeko’s influence is drowning out the link. 

As it happens—as his control breaks and his body shifts, clothes rending loudly and painfully, Lance can’t help thinking that if he’s just trusted Shiro and shifted when told to, he would have been able to resist this.

The second he’s on four paws, Maeko’s hold breaks. He may be an Alpha, but he isn’t Lance’s Alpha. The ability to force a shift is the only measure of control the Galra shifter can use on him. 

Despite this, Lance is still terrified. Be backs up, tail between his legs and ears flat to his skull, until he hits the wall behind him. 

He can hear Ryker sobbing, but he refuses to look over at Keith. He’s glad Keith’s on his bad side, he can’t even imagine his expression right now. 

Lance is whining, heart racing with fear not only because of what just happened, but also the fact that the link is dead silent. 

Shiro has closed it from his side. 

Maeko steps towards him and Lance looks up, growling and snapping defensively. 

He may be a lesser wolf, but he’s still got claws.

Pushing aside his devastation at the closed link, Lance gears up to attack. Crouching down into an offensive position, a harsh growl rips out of his throat.

Before he has the chance to lunge, Keith jumps in front of him, slamming his shoulder directly into Maeko’s stomach. Maeko staggers, gasping, and Keith rears back to hit him.

He loses the opportunity when Shiro’s strong, metallic fist punches the other Alpha directly in the back of the head. 

Ryker gasps and tries to move to him, but Keith grabs him, holding him back as Shiro grabs Maeko by the throat and slams him to the ground.

The Galra struggles but Shiro uses his unnatural strength to pull him back up and slam his face to the floor again. He’s growling, a gruesome noise from his human throat. 

His face is dark, lips pulled back over his teeth, Lance has never seen Shiro so _furious._ He thinks he might understand why Shiro closed the link.

Lance is still whining like a beaten dog, Shiro is growling and Ryker is crying. It’s an explosion of noise and emotion and it’s only made crazier by Hunk and Allura rushing Shiro to pull him off of Maeko.

Pidge moves to Maeko, pulling him up to his knees helpfully, until the Galra pushes her away forcefully.

He stands and moves to grab Ryker, snatching him up by the arm but before Keith can fight him off, someone else intervenes. 

Juun grabs Maeko by the wrist, his usually calm expression hard. The Alpha stares at him in shock before looking to the omega wolf who is cowering in Keith’s arms. He turns and seems to take stock of the situation. 

Everyone on the ship is in the lounge. Coran has pulled Pidge to his side, and Allura and Hunk are still fighting to keep Shiro controlled. 

His beta stands in the doorway, hair down for once and surrounding her like a curtain, her eyes solemn. 

Finally, he looks at Lance who is trembling all over, ears flat and tail tucked. 

Maeko sucks in a sharp breath, former poise returning all at once. He looks to the other paladins and stiffens, before jerking his head down slightly. 

“Forgive me,” is all he offers before turning to leave, shooting Ryker a meaningful look.

Seneka turns to follow him but Juun remains, standing closely to Ryker and Keith. 

The second Maeko is out of the room, Shiro starts struggling again, and both Hunk and Allura are too surprised to hold him back. 

He surprises all of the paladins when he sprints to the inexplicable, giant wolf and wraps it up in his arms. 

The second Shiro touches him, the link is opened, and Lance is bombarded with Shiro’s desperation and fear, along with a healthy dose of anger. 

Underneath it all is concern for Lance, entrenched in overwhelming love. 

_Shiro!_ Lance is sobbing, gasping air through sharp teeth. _Shiro, I’m so sorry. So sorry. I never—I never meant—“_

 _LunaLunaLuna. You’re okay, it’s okay. You’re safe, my Luna, I’ll_ never _let anything happen to you._

Lance can’t form a solid reply, he’s whining again and pushing his face into Shiro’s throat, hiding.

The others are whispering amongst themselves, but Lance can’t spare them any attention, too busy trying to convey his remorse to Shiro.

“You’re okay, baby,” Shiro says this aloud, his hands winding into Lance’s fur to pull his face back so that they’re making eye contact. Shiro’s eyes are ringed in gold, and Lance can feel that he’s desperate to shift as well – he wants whole heartedly to scent Lance proper. Make him feel safe.

“Please tell me what’s going on,” Keith finally speaks, he’s the only paladin that saw Lance shift.

“Is that a _wolf?”_ Hunk asks the question everyone not in the know is wondering. 

Shiro ignores them and pulls Lance back into his arms. 

_You don’t have to tell them Lance, we can come up with something. I’ll cover for you no matter what it takes._

Lance whines, pressing closer.

He believes Shiro. If anyone could pull off a cover, he knows the black paladin—his Alpha, is capable of it. 

But Keith _saw_ him shift. And beyond that, there will be questions about what started the fight, why Lance interfered, why Maeko was so angry.

Lance huffs and jerks his head down. 

_No. I—I want to tell them._

Shiro leans back once more to make eye contact. The shifter gold has faded, but his face is still tense.

“Are you sure?” 

Lance doesn’t think Shiro is aware he’s spoken out loud, but he doesn’t point it out. Instead he looks down, considering Shiro’s offer.

It only takes a second.

_My clothes…_

“Someone get Lance a pair of pants!” Shiro barks without turning around. Lance doesn’t look up, but he senses the movement in the room. 

Nobody moves and Lance refuses to spare attention to anyone beyond his Alpha who is whispering soft words of reassurance. 

Eventually Coran returns, holding a pair of Lance’s yoga pants and a soft blue tee-shirt that he can smell belongs to Shiro. Lance wonders idly if Coran brought it on purpose, knew it would bring comfort. 

Shiro takes them without a word and looks to Lance who sighs, before taking a couple steps back to give himself room. Shiro stands up just in time to hold out a hand for Lance who takes it gratefully. 

He ignored the gasped exclamations around them, stepping into the tight leggings and pulling Shiro’s shirt over his head. Lance takes a deep breath of the fabric before Shiro is pulling him into a soft kiss, wrapping him into a tight hug. 

_I love you._ Echoes through the link and Lance can barely tell who it comes from. 

With one last sigh, Lance steps away from his Alpha to face the room. 

Faces are staring at him in various shades of astonishment. 

Pidge’s mouth is hanging open and Hunk looks like he’d be less surprised if Lance had shot him. 

Keith is watching them with a guarded expression, his face as hard to read as ever.

“You’re a fuckin’ werewolf?” Pidge is the first to break the silence.

“Shifter,” Shiro corrects with a stern look.

“You knew?” She asks, looking at Shiro as if he’s grown another head.

Shiro and Lance exchange a look, though the link is silent.

“I’m a shifter too.”

The room explodes into noise. 

Everyone starts talking at once, making their voices incomprehensible. Juun uses this moment of distraction to pull Ryker out of Keith’s arms, both of them taking a seat on the encompassing couch.

Shiro puts two fingers into his mouth and whistles, long and sharp. 

The room falls silent and Keith looks over in surprise to see Ryker sitting down. The omega smiles softly, waving him over.

The sudden quiet seems to give everyone pause and when Lance also moves to sit down, they all follow. 

Shiro sits flush against his side, arm wrapped low around his waist. 

Eventually, Hunk speaks. “So…how long have you been a werewolf?”

“Shifter,” Shiro and Lance say in unison. 

Lance sighs, running a hand through his hair. “My whole life.”

“Did you bite Shiro and make him a werewolf too?” Pidge asks excitedly. Now that the shock is passing, she’s quaking with the desire to know more.

Shiro growls. “We’re shifters. We always have been.”

Lance doesn’t think he imagines the huff of amusement from Juun. 

“Werewolf is a…rude word,” Lance supplies, and Pidge’s eyes grow wide. “It’s okay if _we_ say it…but—”

“It’s a slur.”

“Like changeling?” This comes from Ryker, and Juun looks at him admonishingly. “What! I wasn’t calling them that.”

“You knew?” Allura asks, surprise in her voice. 

Ryker flushes and looks towards Juun who merely shrugs and crosses his arms. 

“Um, well…we’re shifters too.”

Keith’s face snaps towards him sharply, and Ryker shoots him a sheepish look.

Lance is happy to see that Keith doesn’t let go of his hand though. 

“Who is _we?”_ Allura’s voice is strained and Ryker looks down, clearly uncomfortable with saying anything.

“All of them,” Shiro answers. “They’re a pack.”

For a second, it seems like the room is going to explode into yelling again, but then Hunk cuts in, eyes on Lance.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone?” He asks, and Lance can hear his real question behind it: Why didn’t you tell me?

Hunk – his best friend since the moment he arrived at the garrison. The person he’s been most true and honest with, besides Shiro, his entire life. Lance can only imagine his hurt.

“There are…rules,” he begins, squirming in his seat. “We aren’t supposed to tell non shifters—except in special circumstances.”

“So are you all wolves?” This comes from Keith – the first time he’s spoken since everything went to hell. 

Shiro nods, surprised at Keith’s perception.

“Are there other kinds?” Pidge asks, then looks at Ryker and Juun. “Are you wolves too?”

Ryker nods shyly. “I don’t, um—I don’t know how closely related Galra wolves and Human wolves are but…we do seem to have a lot in common.”

“There are lots of types of shifters, on Earth at least. My sister-in-law Lisa is a fox shifter…” he trails off thinking about his family for just a moment. “Oh! I met a family of owl shifters once! Did you know groups of owls are called _a parliament?”_

 _Lance,_ Shiro implores, cutting off his nervous babbling.

“Sorry,” Lance says, thankful. 

“For what?” Hunk asks in genuine concerns.

“Oh, uh—” He looks to Shiro for help. 

_Your call, my Luna._

Lance huffs and turns back to the group. “Shifters have a…uh…psychic link? So that we can…ya know, communicate in our true form.”

This is the first thing to genuinely upset Keith. He turns to Ryker accusatorily, moving away from him. 

“You could have gotten caught this entire time?”

Ryker shrugs. “There are ways around it—” 

“What if he had found out and hurt you! Oh my god, Ryker—”

The omega wolf reaches for Keith’s hands and looks around embarrassedly. “Can we not talk about this here?”

“No, I need to understand this. Why does Maeko treat you like that? And why do you put up with it? I _know_ you could take him.”

Ryker looks to Lance desperately, and Lance turns to Shiro for help. 

Shiro turns his eyes upward and sighs. “I really didn’t want to get this deep into this—” 

“Are you kidding me? You think you can just drop a bomb like this and _not_ give us all the info?” Pidge adjusts her glasses. “Think again buddy.”

Lance places his hand on Shiro’s knee, squeezing it tightly. 

“I don’t know how all shifters do it, but in wolf packs there are hierarchies,” he begins resignedly, while almost everyone leans forward in interest. “There are Alpha wolves, like me and Maeko. We’re meant to govern over the pack and keep everyone safe. Larger teeth, more aggressive, generally bigger all over.”

Pidge has pulled out a notebook. Lance isn’t sure where she found a Ticonderoga pencil in space but he’s not about to ask.

“The Alpha’s mate is the Luna wolf, and they’re designated by a notch in their ear.”

As one, the entire groups eyes swivel to Lance, who blushes and barely refrains from touching the tear in his right ear.

“From there, it’s a litany of roles served by lesser wolves. Betas, hunters, scouts, sentinels—”

“I’m a hunter!” Lance interrupts. “And I’m pretty sure Juun is a sentinel?”

He looks are the largest Galra shifter who looks surprised despite himself, nodding in affirmation.

“So…what are you?” Keith asks Ryker, who once again looks to Lance.

Lance hesitates before speaking. “It’s pretty rare but sometimes packs have an omega. They’re born whenever litters have been small, or pups aren’t being born for whatever reason. Basically, it’s nature’s way of trying to rebalance the pack.”

“And how do they do that?” Coran enquires.

Lance tilts his head back and forth considering, looking to Ryker for permission to continue. It’s one thing to give surface level info about wolf shifters. This is much more personal.

At Ryker’s nod he continues. 

“Omegas are meant to breed – they’re incredibly fertile and they can carry pups no matter their gender. They tend to be…smaller and gentler—it makes them good caregivers. Pack omegas usually help with other litters in the pack besides their own, too.”

Keith stiffens. “So you—”

Ryker is quick to cut him off. “Keith, _please_ let’s speak of this later.”

This time Keith relents, and though he remains tense, he reaches for Ryker’s hand and laces their fingers.

“Just like with humans, wolf shifters have struggled with issues of equality in the past. On Earth, omegas are seen as equals…but it hasn’t always been that way. And apparently those updated views aren’t universal.”

Lance looks to Ryker, who stares straight ahead, hand tight around Keith’s.

“Alphas often have an unfair amount of power within the pack dynamic,” Shiro offers. “And they also have some measure of control over the other wolves…which is how Maeko forced Lance to shift against his will.”

Everyone sits silent for a few moments, absorbing the information. Lance is unsurprised at the relief coursing through his body. For better or worse, their secret is out. 

“So…you guys have been able to read each other’s minds this entire time?” Hunk’s voice is laced with curiosity.

The corner of Shiro’s mouth lifts in a small smile. 

“No, only since Kito.”

“Is that because you banged on Kito?”

“Pidge!” Allura’s leans over to smack at the back of her head.

Lance snorts in amusement. 

“I’ve known Shiro was a wolf since the garrison. Alpha’s have a really strong scent,” Shiro scoffs, mock offended. “A _good one,_ I swear. He didn’t know I was a wolf until Kito…when we met in the woods.”

“The link developed quickly after that but usually it takes a long time, even after someone joins a pack. Links only work across one pack. We can’t hear Ryker and Juun’s pack and they can’t hear ours.” Shiro supplies helpfully.

Pidge is opening her mouth to ask what is sure to be another hundred questions but Shiro beats her too it. 

“Look, we’re not going anywhere. If you guys have more questions, we can talk about it later.”

He looks down at Lance, who is drifting steadily into exhaustion. Now that the adrenalin of the confrontation has passed, he’s being confronted with the reality of what happened—what Maeko did to him.

Shiro slides his arm up underneath Lance’s arms to lift him helpfully. Lance staggers into him but the Alpha is quick to keep them steady. 

They’re just about to leave, which is good because Lance can feel the tenuous hold on his emotions unraveling the longer they stay in that room, when Allura asks.

“So is it just Humans and Galra?”

Shiro pauses, looking to the other pack, before shaking his head. 

“I’ve seen others.”

At Allura’s concerned face, Ryker leans forward to speak to her. Lance is already tuning them out, fatigue at the forefront. 

They make it the few steps out of the lounge before Shiro dips down, sliding his other arm under Lance’s knees, lifting him into a bridal carry. 

_I’ll let this slide…jus’ this once,_ even his thoughts are slurred.

Shiro huffs and warmth suffuses the link. “I’m gonna start carrying you everywhere. Can’t let you out of my sight these days.”

Lance’s squirms in his arms, guilt blossoming in his chest. They’re silent the rest of the way to the room. 

The second the door closes behind them and Shiro lays Lance down in the bed, he’s pulling off the loose tee-shirt and urging Lance to work on the yoga pants. 

Lance catches on quickly and he sluggishly undresses. By the time his pants are off, Shiro is already completely naked and shifted into the towering black wolf he truly is. 

He jumps onto the bed and nudges Lance with his nose, encouraging him to shift. 

And Lance wants to, he does. It’s been weeks since they’ve shifted together. But as he starts to, his stomach turns and the memory of Maeko’s sway over him returns tenfold. 

Shiro growls but Lance can tell it’s not directed at him.

_Shift, my Luna. I’ll keep you safe._

He hesitates still, until Shiro nips him sharply on his inner thigh. Lance hisses and Shiro licks over the small wound soothingly. 

_I’ve got you baby, you’re mine, you’re safe here._

Giving himself over to his trust in Shiro, Lance finally shifts. 

The second he does, he’s assaulted with Shiro’s fear and anger and devastating worry. It’s harder to hold back their feelings from each other in this form, but the need to process their thoughts and think things through is less necessary. 

Lance doesn’t need to apologize, because he knows Shiro can feel it. He can see the way Lance had felt when Shiro had closed the link, his realization of the agony of being cut off. 

It’s especially painful when it’s contrasted with the way Shiro had felt after his parent’s sudden death, and Lance’s heart pounds at the realization.

 _I’m so sorry, Takashi, I never realized—_

Shiro nudges him back, curling around him comfortably. 

_It’s behind us._

Lance doesn’t argue, though he wants to. Instead he relaxes into Shiro’s embrace, tipping his head back to give the Alpha wolf more room to lick over his face and ears.

When Lance wakes up later, the fluorescent lights are dimmed for night cycle. Shiro is still asleep, pressed tightly to his side. 

Lance lays quietly for a bit, listening to Shiro shuffle around in his sleep. He’s dreaming about hunting – chasing down a white rabbit through fluffy snow. Where ever he is unfamiliar to Lance, but Shiro dreams of it often and is comfortable there.

He’s watching his mate’s dream play out in his head when Shiro starts kicking his back paw and Lance’s amusement is so great that it wakes him up.

Shiro rolls onto his back with a huff, stretching his paws into the air. 

_I was so close to catching it._

_No one ever catches the dream rabbit, Shiro._

Shiro snorts and rolls back onto his stomach, looking at Lance closely.

_How you feelin’ baby?_

Lance tucks his nose under his paws, thinking long and hard before he answers.

_You know how when I got hurt and lost the vision in my left eye and you thought I was handling it too well?_

_I never thought—_

_It’s fine. I kind of did. It was weird but…it just never really bothered me. I mean—seeing it in the mirror is always kind of shocking, I’ll never win any beauty contests now._

_Lance._ Shiro leans down and licks across the scars running from his forehead down to his muzzle.

 _I’m serious though. Beyond the whole_ eye-patch _thing, which is pure vanity, it never really bothered me. But I could tell how worried you were that one day I’d wake up and freak out._

_It’s okay if you want to freak out Lance. Losing a part of yourself like that…it’s traumatic._

He’s speaking from experience and they both know it.

_Well the thing is—everything you thought I should have felt then…I’m feeling right now._

Shiro stands up and nudges Lance with his snout, pushing the smaller wolf onto his back. When he lays down across him, his weight and scent are like a blanket of comfort. 

Lance’s feelings of disgust are crushing for both of them and he tries desperately it close it off, so that Shiro doesn’t have to deal with it too.

Shiro growls and nips at his neck.

_Stop trying to close me out, dammit._

This in turn has Lance even more upset, the realization that no matter what he does, he’s inflicting his feelings onto Shiro – this man who has experienced more pain and tragedy than anyone else he knows.

Lance shakes his head and struggles to roll away, kicking his back legs to push Shiro off of him. 

Shiro is up like a shot, standing only enough so that he can get a good mouthful of Lance’s furry scruff, growling aggressively.

Lance freezes, instincts telling him to stop fighting back, _to submit._ His tail is between his legs and his heart is racing but Shiro doesn’t relent. 

_It’s okay to be upset, Lance_

_Letting another Alpha do that to me. It’s so humiliating Shiro. You don’t understand,_ you’re _an Alpha._

He pulls roughly until Shiro lets go. Now free, Lance moves to his paws, backing away from Shiro but keeping eye contact. They’re both so big, there’s barely any space between them on the bed.

 _You’re my Alpha and he violated that! In front of all of our friends. I feel like he_ molested me _in front of everyone I love and now I’ll always be ruined._

Lance is shaking, and he’s torn between shifting back so that their connection is less strong or running and hiding. 

The thing about the bond is that there aren’t a lot of options for hiding your feelings.

But as ever, Shiro knows the best move to make. He lowers himself slowly so that Lance is above him. Trying to appear as non threatening as possible. 

_Lance…nobody is judging you for what happened._

Lance tosses his head, ears erect in alarm. _Are you kidding me? What do you think they’re all doing now? They’re talking about what happened and what we are. Everyone_ knows _Shiro!_

_Does that bother you?_

Lance deflates, sitting back on his haunches.

_I don’t know. I kind of—I kind of liked it how it was. It was our secret._

Shiro stands, moving into Lance’s space, nosing at his throat.

_It’ll always be ours Lance. And you’ll always be mine. No one can take that away._

Lance growls, grabbing Shiro’s throat between his teeth. 

_You’re mine too._

Shiro’s shock ripples through him, but he ignores it, pressing harder until the Alpha wolf has no choice but to lean in to avoid being injured. 

The movement dislodges Lance, and Shiro overbalances him, shoving Lance to the floor. 

For a second, they’re still – the air fraught with tension – Shiro’s bright golden eyes watching him pointedly from his position on the bed. 

Lance fights his instincts and refuses to break eye contact, issuing a challenge.

Shiro picks it up, growling low in his throat, jumping down from the bed to tackle Lance to the ground. 

They tumble across the floor, nails scrabbling on steel, trading vicious growls. 

Shiro’s large but Lance is fast, and he turns his head quickly to snap at Shiro’s side, missing his flesh by mere millimeters. 

The Alpha wolf uses that impressive weight to shoulder into Lance’s side, slamming him into the wall. 

Neither of them is pulling punches, and Lance is snapping wildly, mouth foamy as Shiro climbs over him, putting one giant paw of the back on his head to hold his face to the floor. 

Shiro loses his footing for a moment when Lance throws his head back, but he’s back on top within seconds, biting Lance at the scruff painfully tight until the smaller wolf has no option but to submit or risk injury. 

Lance stills, but Shiro doesn’t release him, pressing his entire weight onto Lance’s prostrate body.

The link is silent, their instincts are too heightened for formal thoughts or identifiable emotions. 

With a warning growl and the tightening of strong jaws, Shiro lets him go and moves to stand over Lance, giving him no time to think let alone move before he’s releasing a hot stream of urine over his face. 

Lance growls at first, startled, but as the overwhelming scent of his Alpha assaults his senses, he slowly calms down. 

Shiro wastes no time after he’s finished, urging Lance up onto his paws, before he mounts him. He thrusts frantically until finally he pushes past tense muscle to penetrate the smaller wolf.

It’s painful – Lance is tight and unprepared, he’s not even particularly aroused – but this isn’t about pleasure, it’s about dominance. 

Shiro growls when he comes, his paws digging into Lance’s sides, biting into Lance’s fur as his knot swells and ties them together. 

Shiro relaxes and his weight pushes them both to the floor, Lance blanketed by the Alphas weight. 

Their heart rates slow, and Shiro licks slowly at Lance’s neck as they come down from the high of their fight. 

Lance let’s himself space out, thinking of absolutely nothing except the comforting scent of Shiro and the vaguely pleasant burn from where they’re tied. He whines just a bit, and Shiro’s broad tongue swipes at his face.

It takes about half an hour for his knot to deflate, but the moment it does Shiro shifts and Lance follows suit. 

Dexterous hands pull him into an expansive lap, and Lance closes his eyes as Shiro pulls him into a heated kiss. 

Their tongues slide together, and Lance can taste the salt of Shiro’s piss, can feel it on his skin and in his hair. 

The arousal that was absent before is now burning through him, and he moves to his knees to roll his hips in Shiro’s lap. He can feel Shiro’s cum leaking down his thighs and the mix of bodily fluid provides enough lubrication to encourage their movements. 

Shiro grasps his hips, fingers bruising, as Lance slides his hands into cropped hair, intensifying their kiss. 

_I’m yours, I’ll always be yours._

Shiro reaches down to grasp himself, lining his cock up with Lance’s sopping hole. Lance gasps at the feeling and grinds down, sliding Shiro inside.

“I’m yours, too,” Shiro growls out, thrusting up sharply. 

The movement topples them and Lance lands on his back. He moans when Shiro loops an arm underneath his knee, pulling his leg high and opening him up. 

At this angle, Shiro can slide deeper, and his stomach skates over Lance’s neglected cock – rough, short hairs scratching against his shaft teasingly. 

Lance wraps his arms around Shiro’s broad shoulders and pulls him down, pushing his legs into an almost perfect split. He presses their mouths back together, desperate to have them connected in all ways.

 _No one else will ever understand what we have._ Lance thinks somewhat hysterically, though as they are – fucking on the floor, drenched in piss, bruised and battered from their fight for dominance – he’s right.

 _They don’t need to,_ Shiro assures him, before leaning in to close his teeth around Lance’s throat. 

Cum pours between them, Lance spilling over both of their stomachs as he finally climaxes. The feedback is enough to have Shiro coming as well, emptying into Lance, filling him up even more.

Neither pulls away from the kiss, sucking and biting at tongues and lips, while Shiro slowly softens inside of Lance’s tight heat.

Eventually they relax, and reality slowly comes back into focus. Shiro stands and pulls Lance up, shuffling him into the shower while he cleans up their mess. 

Lance is already conditioning when Shiro joins him, and he indulges himself by washing Shiro’s hair, running soapy hands down his body. 

When they’re both clean, Lance leans his head against Shiro’s chest, water still pouring over them both.

“This has been a day,” he says, face smooshed into Shiro’s cleavage.

“I don’t think it’s cleavage unless I’m wearing a shirt…” Shiro muses.

Lance snorts. “I’ll be sure to pick you up some V-necks the next time we hit the space mall.”

Shiro wraps his hands arms around Lance, sliding his hands up his back.

“I love you, Lance. I’m sorry I agreed to team you up with Maeko. I should have realized how you felt about him. I—I never thought he’d do what he did today.”

Lance sighs and squishes them closer together. He doesn’t want to think about what happened earlier or the other Alpha, but he knows they’ll have to address it.

 _Eventually._ Shiro presses a kiss to his forehead and turns the tap off behind him. 

The room is clean again, Shiro even changed the sheets. Lance is aching to throw himself back in bed, but a hand in the crook of his arm stops him.

“Let’s go grab something to eat, I’m starving.”

“Still drooling over your lost rabbit?”

Shiro grins and shoves him playfully. They redress, Lance in the same yoga pants and stolen tee-shirt from before. Shiro, in what he knows is Lance’s favorite combo – grey sweatpants and a black henley. 

Lance runs his hands over Shiro’s firm stomach, the muscles outlined through the shirt. 

_You trying to start something?_

Shiro snorts and pulls him out into the hallway. 

The second they’re outside of their rooms, away from the overpowering scent of _them,_ Lance is tense.

Shiro squeezes his hand, pulling Lance in close enough to wrap his arm around, and his steady Alpha confidence bleeds into Lance slowly. 

Shiro will never let anything happen to him. 

As the thought enters his brain, so does the scent of another Alpha. Lance tenses momentarily, before he registers the level. Maeko smells much stronger, this is merely the lingering scent that claims his pack.

Ryker sits in the galley, a cup of tea in front of him. He’s so deep in thought that it takes Shiro clearing his throat to startle it him out of it. 

He looks up at them quickly, and Lance can tell he’s not used to being surprised. 

“Shiro, Lance, my apologies—I can go—” He starts to stand up Shiro waves him off, herding Lance into a seat across the table. 

Shiro mills about looking for food, cabinets scraping open and crockery clattering, while Lance inspects the man across from him. Ryker has already gone back to staring into his tea.

Lance is just about to open his mouth, his ability to withstand strained silence only so great, when the other shifter speaks.

“Maeko wasn’t always so cruel,” he starts, picking up his cup without taking a sip. “He’s always been strict…but it was always within reason.”

The sound of movement behind them stops for a moment before picking back up. Lance can feel the undercurrent of interest in his mate.

Lance says nothing, and Ryker continues. 

“I know you think Maeko hates you…and maybe he would like to believe the same. But I have never known a life without our bond. I don’t think I’m being presumptuous when I say that sometimes I know him better than he knows himself.”

He swirls the liquid in his cup and Lance watches, hypnotized, before he thumps it down against the table and looks up.

Luminous yellow eyes seem to look into Lance’s soul and it’s silent behind him, Shiro given up on pretending to look for food.

“Do you know why Maeko has sworn to take down the druids?” It’s spoken almost pleadingly. “Did the Blades tell you?”

Lance shakes his head, and Shiro’s silence is enough answer.

“It’s not because he cares so much about the empire. He’d like to see it fall, sure, but he’s never been so altruistic.”

Ryker runs a hand through his hair, ruffling the fur around his ears. Lance is struck, for a moment, by the realization that Ryker is much older than they are. That his sweet omega disposition gives him an air of youthful naivete that isn’t necessarily real.

“The druids killed our Luna wolf – Maeko’s mate.”

Lance feels an immediate pang, and he has to press a hand to his own chest to realize it’s Shiro’s heart that is racing, not his. 

The Alpha abandons his hunt and joins them at the table, grasping Lance’s hand tightly in his own the second he sits down. 

“They tortured Ethree, trying to figure out what made a shifter, where we were different biologically. And then when they couldn’t find anything useful, they put her in the arena and made her fight to the death. We all had to feel her struggle, listen to her screaming until suddenly she just _wasn’t_ and then the silence was so much worse.”

Ryker spit the words, clear anger in his voice. It wasn’t just a blow to Maeko, it was an attack on their entire pack. 

“I’m so sorry, Ryker,” Lance reaches out, hesitating briefly before finally grasping the hand clutching painfully tight around a tea cup. 

Ryker smiles self-deprecatingly. “After that, Maeko was different. He was so hurt and angry—he started taking it out on me. There were two scouts in our pack, a couple who tried to interfere when it got out of hand one night. That turned into an even bigger fight and they left. The more silent the bond became, the more my brother started focusing on me…”

Ryker sighs. “I’m not trying to make it sounds like any of this is okay… I just wanted you to know. I think Maeko believes that if he hadn’t let Ethree run around as she pleased, she wouldn’t have gotten caught.”

He huffs a laugh. “Not that he could have stopped her.”

“What your brother did—” Shiro begins, before Maeko can interrupt. 

“Nothing I can say will excuse what happened today,” he says genuinely. “I’m so sorry Lance. I should have tried to stop him. I’m not…great at standing up to him.”

Lance, for his part, is quiet. He’s still absorbing everything Ryker has told them. He’s not heard of many Alpha’s surviving the death of a Luna wolf. The untimely death of any pack member is traumatizing, but the link between mates is especially strong – enough to destroy the strongest wolf’s mental capabilities. 

If Shiro died… Lance isn’t sure he could make it. To lose their intimate connection, for it to be replaced with silence…

He can’t imagine funneling that overwhelming sorrow into bullying his siblings, but whatever. When Lance finally speaks, he surprises all of them.

“So you talked to Keith? About the whole shifter thing?”

Ryker looks at him with wide eyes. “Oh, um…yeah I did.”

“And? How’d he take it?”

There’s a small smile, and Lance imagines there’s greater emotion behind it than Ryker lets on.

“About as well as anyone who found out they’re half-Galra could be expected to take it.”

It’s small, but Lance smiles back. “That’s good. You’re cute together.”

Ryker’s cheeks darken, and he looks back down at his tea. 

Shiro stands once more, squeezing Lance’s shoulder softly before moving to find them something to eat.

Later, as they lay in bed together, Shiro runs his fingers up and down Lance’s back soothingly.

_Maeko losing his mate doesn’t make his actions justified._

Lance nods in agreement. _I don’t think he told us to explain Maeko’s actions. I think he wanted to explain his own._

Shiro grunts. Now that Lance has started to calm down, he’s finally able to give in to the feelings he’d been trying to set aside, and his wolf is _pissed_ at the idea of another Alpha touching his Luna.

Lance rolls over, burying his face into Shiro’s throat. 

_It wasn’t your fault, I shouldn’t have tried to get involved in Ryker’s life, or his relationship with Keith. And I definitely shouldn’t have blocked you out._

Shiro cuddles him, settling them both into a more comfortable position.

_Still doesn’t make me not want to punch him._

Lance smiles for a second before sighing. Tomorrow looms. 

+

When Lance wakes up, he sets very low expectations for the day. He can feel Shiro’s consternation, but he shrugs it off.

“Can’t be upset if I’m already expecting the worst, right?”

Shiro says nothing but gives him a look that says he’s on to Lance’s crap.

The walk to the kitchen is quiet, neither of them can tell where the tension is coming from, but it’s thick throughout the bond.

Shiro sighs before pressing the panel to open the galley.

All of the other paladins are seated at the table; Allura, Coran and the other pack elsewhere.

As one they pause and turn to look, faces in various stages of feigned noninterest.

Lance makes it to the cabinet where they keep the mugs before someone finally speaks.

“So do vampires exist?”

It’s Pidge, because of course it is. 

Lance turns to Shiro, whose mouth is crooked in a small smile and rolls his eyes.

Gathering the things necessary for his tea, he joins them at the table.

“Not that I’m aware of.”

Pidge deflates until Shiro sits down beside her with his own cup of coffee.

“There were shifters in the past who subsisted on blood as a means of survival. They say that’s where the myths came from.”

“Oh shit, the _chiroptera_ shifters. I haven’t thought about that since I was a kid and my sisters used to tell me stories to try and make me have nightmares.” Lance huffs fondly at the memory.

“Chirop-what?” Hunk questions.

 _They’re never going to stop asking us questions, are they?_ Lance wonders, turning to Shiro unhappily. 

_If we get it out of the way, maybe they’ll stop._

Lance sighs. _Doubtful._

“Are you guys talking to each other psychically?” Pidge asks excitedly.

“Are you talking about us?” Keith chimes in. 

Rolling his eyes again – at this point, Lance is starting to think they’re going to roll out of his head.

“If it makes you feel better, we’ve been talking about you right in front of your faces for months now.”

“Lance,” Shiro admonishes, before turning to Hunk. “There are many different types of shifters, and between those there are different clans. Lance and I are both wolves, but we come from different clans.”

“What does that mean?”

Shiro picks up a piece of lavender colored bread. “Clans are like extended family, sort of, but bigger than packs. Different customs. Usually look different and act different.”

Everyone seems content to let Lance and Shiro actually enjoy their breakfast for a while, before Pidge once again breaks the silence. 

“So, not like I have a lot of context, but I’m guessing what happened yesterday with Maeko was sort of…not cool.”

Lance freezes, spoon halfway to his mouth. He sets it down slowly and looks to the others. 

“No, it wasn’t.” His icy tone says everything.

“So, what does that mean for our alliance? Do we call this whole thing off? Because if that’s what you want to do, I’m cool with that, we can figure out another way to take down the druids.”

There’s a murmur of agreement from the group and Lance feels a clench of warmth in his stomach. Shiro’s hand on his knee grounds him.

“I don’t want to call this off. We’re too close and it’s too important,” Lance says.

Pidge nods. 

“Well, since you feel that way,” Keith cuts in, surprising them all. “I think we should change our strategy.” 

The other paladins turn to Keith questioningly, but Lance has an idea of where he’s going.

“Ryker told you about the quintessence thing.”

Keith nods, before explaining to the others. “Apparently the druids can’t sense shifters when they’re in animal form.”

“True form,” Shiro corrects and Keith nods in apology.

“So we could just sneak in right past them?” Hunk asks excitedly.

“We’d need to speak with Allura and the other pack. Our current plan is fairly solid, discounting the fact that Lance and Maeko _will not_ be partnered together anymore. We may only have a matter of days to come up with something new.”

Keith turns to Shiro. “But it’s like you say. We won’t have our snipers on the roof providing coverage, which is crucial. If we can have Lance and Maeko on the ground, that will free up me and Hunk to provide firepower.”

“You any good with a rifle, mullet?” Lance can’t help retorting, even though he’s already excited for Keith’s plan.

“Better than you at this point,” Keith smirks.

Lance grins before turning to Shiro. “I’m game.”

_Are you sure about this Lance? Last night you were freaking out about the team knowing. Now you want to shift in front of them and do a mission that way?_

Lance shrugs. _I want to do whatever’s necessary to take down the druids and get that other Alpha off our ship._

That Shiro can get behind, and he nods begrudgingly to Keith.

“If the other pack agrees and if we can get a solid plan together in time…it could work.”

“Let’s you and me talk to Allura after this, we’ll come up with something.”

When breakfast is over, Lance has to practically force Shiro to go with Keith.

“You can come with us, we could always use your input Lance.”

Lance scoffs. “That’s a hard pass. Go talk to Allura and the others, I’ll be fine.”

_I don’t want you to be alone._

Reaching up to grab Shiro’s face and pull him into a kiss, Lance presses reassurance through the link.

_I’ll be fine. Maeko’s probably going to be on the bridge with you guys anyway, he kind of has a stake in all of this._

_Not if I have anything to say about it._

Lance grins into the kiss and pulls away. 

“That’s my big, bad Alpha. Go kick ass, baby.”

Shiro huffs, but he smiles anyway. Behind him, Keith stands with crossed arms, patience quickly waning. 

Lance heads for the training room, intent on practicing with his bayard. He and Keith may joke about his dip in ability, but it’s one of Lance’s foremost concerns. His lion can only compensate for his loss of vision when he’s inside of her. 

Palming the unlock panel of his favorite training room, the doors slide open and Lance immediately freezes when he’s assaulted with a wall of thick, restless Alpha scent. 

The room is in the middle of a sequence, droids scattered across, all focused on taking down the mammoth amethyst wolf growling and snapping in the middle. 

As Lance watches, the wolf lunges into the droid in front of him while kicking powerful back legs to take out the two closing in on him from behind. The bots all go flying, while the massive wolf lands smoothly on four paws.

He’s easily the biggest wolf Lance has ever seen, standing a full head above Shiro’s impressive height. He would make Lance look like a pup in comparison.

And while Lance would agree that the Galra wolves were definitely wolves…there is something different about them that he can’t quite put his finger on. Something in the shape of his jaws and the size of his teeth, bigger for sure, but also sort of—off. 

Maybe most startling for Lance is the fact that his eyes are exactly the same, no shifter gold that he’s so familiar with. Of course, neither Maeko or his brother have pupils, the luminous yellow spanning their entire sclera, so maybe that was why.

 _You need to leave. Right now._ Shiro’s voice cuts in, startling Lance, who steps backwards in surprise.

The sound of his shoe skidding on the floor is enough to call the other wolf’s attention to him, and he watches as Maeko rips into the last droid with massive canine teeth, strong jaw crunching through the metal. 

Final bot felled, the simulation pings its termination, the droids and their various pieces strewn about disappear. 

Maeko stands watching him, both momentarily frozen.

_Lance! Leave, now!_

Lance nods, though he knows Shiro can’t see him, and takes another step back. Fueled by his retreat, suddenly the other wolf is shifting, jumping to two feet and moving quickly towards Lance.

“Lance, wait,” Maeko starts, hand stretching out as if to grab him, causing Lance to growl warningly.

It’s never as intimidating in this form as it is as a wolf, but it gets the point across.

Maeko pulls up short, hands dropping. “Right, of course. I just need—please allow me to-“

_I’m coming down there._

Lance wants to stop him, but he can tell that nothing he could say would stop Shiro at this point.

Maeko clears his throat and starts again. “I want to apologize for yesterday. It was completely inappropriate, I never meant—And in front of your pack, if my Luna ever saw that, I—Well, I know it’s not enough but, I am sorry.”

Lance is motionless, watching this powerful Alpha stand naked before him, almost begging for forgiveness. He opens his mouth to speak but can think of nothing to say. It _wasn’t_ okay and he _didn’t_ forgive him.

But this apology is unexpected. And Lance isn’t the type to hold onto grudges or hurt feelings. 

“I don’t forgive you,” he starts, surprised by the downward tick at the corner of Maeko’s mouth. “But I accept your apology.”

The rhythmic squeaking of boots on the steel floor alerts them both to Shiro’s arrival, the Alpha pulling up behind Lance to touch his shoulder. 

Even panting from his obvious run down to the training floors, Shiro radiates intimidation. He’s been privy to the conversation between Lance and Maeko but it doesn’t mean that he cared for it.

“Allura needs you on the bridge to discuss the change in strategy.”

Lance’s breath catches in his chest at the iciness in Shiro’s voice, but Maeko merely nods, moving to the side of the room where he’d left his clothes.

Once he’s gone, Shiro pulls Lance into a hug. 

_You’re okay?_

Lance nods, soaking in the scent of his own Alpha amongst the cloud of _other_ that hung around them. Finally, he pulls away.

“I’m fine, I don’t think he’s going to try anything.”

Shiro’s forehead creases as his face spells out distrust, but Lance brushes it off. Instead he turns to look at the training room. 

“Do you have anything else you need to do today?”

“I think Allura can handle everything, I told her I’d trust her judgement call.”

Lance nods, already knowing as much. 

The training room still stinks of the other Alpha, and it’s irritating not just because of who it was but for the fact that this is Lance’s favorite room. It has the longest expanse of floor, the best place to set up a shooting range. Plus, it has a wide window spanning the wall, providing a beautiful view of where ever they happened to be passing at the time – right now, endless stars without interruption.

He needs to cover the scent.

“I was just thinking… Since everyone knows about us now…” He looks to Shiro, and through the link he can feel the Alpha’s surprise at his sudden burst of excitement.

“You want to shift here?”

“Maeko did it. It looked pretty fun too. I don’t see why we couldn’t?”

Shiro turns to look at the door to the hall. “Anyone could walk in.”

“Well then try not to mount me the second we shift,” Lance smirks, reaching down to unbutton his pants. 

Shiro rolls his eyes, but he doesn’t hesitate to reach behind his head and pull off his tee-shirt in one smooth movement.

“Besides,” Lance continues, reaching behind his head to unlace the ties of his eye patch. “They want us to fight as wolves against the druids? We need to be at the top of our game.”

“I can’t argue with that,” Shiro returns, stepping out of his shoes. He folds everything neatly and sets it to the side, gathering up Lance’s clothes as well. 

By the time he returns to the mat, Lance is already on four paws, stretching with his head low to the ground and his tail up in the air.

Shiro watches him as Lance straightens up and stretches out his back legs one at a time, the toes of each paw spreading to showcase dangerously sharp claws.

“Training sequence six,” his Alpha announces to the room before joining him.

They take out the first round of droids fairly quickly, Shiro shifting back to call out the next set. 

It’s a lot like hunting, Shiro signaling to Lance his plan and Lance smoothly executing it. 

When Lance was little, and he’d first learned about all the designations within the pack, he’d wanted nothing more than to be a pack protector. Not being an Alpha, the sentinel role had called to him and he’d spent time with his father prowling their territory, keeping an eye on the other family, ensuring that everyone stayed safe.

But a lot of being a sentinel involved staying vigilant and patrolling, and when it came down to it, Lance just wasn’t cut out for it. Bored and easily distracted, he spent more time running ahead of his father, dashing into the mud and leaves to find whatever small animal had crossed their path. 

Being diagnosed with ADHD had made a lot of sense, but it had also been the death knell of his life as a sentinel.

Luckily, his father had the experience to recognize how Lance’s single-minded determination made for the perfect hunter.

And it was true. 

The way the sight or scent of something could trigger his focus, fading out all of the background noise until all that existed was his prey. 

It made him an incredible predator. 

And while that wasn’t necessarily applicable here in the training room, where the droids were loud and obvious, it did mean that there was very little Lance wasn’t capable of – even with his new disability.

So, though it’s Shiro signaling their moves, it’s Lance telling him the best strategies – creating their game plan for Shiro to oversee.

They’d taken down four of the bots in their current sequence, Lance circling the remaining three and herding them towards the center of the room, keeping an eye on his Alpha the whole time. 

Lance notices the opening before Shiro, and through the feedback of the link, Shiro is quick to make his move – lunging in to take down the rear bot just as Lance jumps forward to grab the front. 

As one, they fall back. Shaking and tearing, the screeching sound of rending metal has them both laying their ears back against their skulls.

The second those two droids are finished, they rush the center one just before it regains its sense of strategy.

The droids disappear in a soft flash of Altean magic Lance tries not to question.

Lance yips in excitement, bouncing over to Shiro before he has the chance to shift and call for another sequence.

Shiro darts backwards, growling teasingly, and Lance takes the opportunity to jump on him, rolling them both across the floor. 

They’re snapping and growling at each other playfully, Shiro trying desperately to capture Lance’s tail, and for a moment it’s like the first time all over again.

+

“So are you gonna just…do it right here?” 

The question comes from Hunk, but he’s not looking at anyone specific, his attention on some part of the ceiling he must find particularly interesting.

Lance looks to Shiro, who merely shrugs. 

Shifters were no stranger to nudity, but the rest of the paladins aren’t necessarily of the same mind.

“We can shift somewhere else?” Lance offers, tentatively. 

“Hell no, I want to see this!” Pidge shouts, pushing past Hunk and Keith to stand at the front. 

Allura, too, seems interested, learning forward slightly. 

Ryker is practically bouncing, Lance has never seen him so excited. 

Now that their secret is out, he and Keith have hardly parted ways. Even under the watchful eye of Maeko, who has been uncharacteristically reserved since the incident three days prior. 

“You don’t have to be here Hunk, this is just a test run for the two packs. I understand if you’d rather leave,” Shiro offers. 

Hunk hesitates, and for a moment, Lance thinks he’s going to take the offer. But then he squares his shoulders and shakes his head. 

“Nah, nothing I can’t handle,” he says confidently. 

Lance beams at him. 

“Let’s do this.”

The other pack is undressed almost before he can finish his sentence.

They’re all fairly large wolves, Juun the most so. 

Even Ryker, who by rights should be small, is comparable to Lance. 

There’s a similar pattern of dark violet fur, sprinkled in with deep plum and light lavender, across the group. Seneka is almost as fuzzy as Lance is, Shiro points out gleefully.

 _I’m not fuzzy._ Lance argues uselessly before he’s pulling off his clothes and tossing them to the side. 

Shiro does the same and they look only at each other, ignoring the others obvious interest. 

In a breath, Lance lets the shift come over him, stretching his back the second his paws touch the floor. 

Shaking himself roughly, Lance looks to Shiro, amused to see him yawn – showing off vicious teeth and tongue. 

“I feel like I just got mind-fucked,” Pidge turns to Hunk. “Did you see that? I feel like I didn’t see anything.”

“Glitch in the matrix,” Hunk jokes, but he sounds slightly awed. 

“Fascinating!” Allura exclaims, moving closer. “I can’t help wonder how far I can push my own transformative abilities after seeing this.”

She kneels down fearlessly next to Lance, who swiftly lays down, rolling onto his back. 

She takes the bait, rubbing at his chest and stomach until his tongue is lolling. 

Shiro yips and nips at his side. 

_Shameless._

Lance barks a laugh. _Who knew this is all I had to do to get Allura’s hands on me._

Shiro growls, pushing at him, and though Lance knows it’s playful, the others don’t. Allura stands quickly and moves back beside Hunk.

Lance rolls with the movement, bouncing onto his paws, crouching down spiritedly, his tail wagging. 

He expects Shiro to come at him, so he’s incredibly surprised when Ryker barrels into him from the left. 

_Watch your blind spot, Lance._ Shiro warns, though he’s very clearly amused. 

Lance snaps at the omega, whipping around to try and grab at his ear. Ryker hops backward, slamming into Juun, who barely even notices the impact. 

Darting in, Lance chases Ryker, who runs to hide between Juun’s legs, looking at Lance as if to say _now what’re you gonna do?_

Looking to Shiro, who is clearly uninterested in helping, he turns to the other alpha. 

Maeko is keeping his distance, Seneka dutifully at his side, but he’s watching them. 

Lance can only wonder what he’s thinking.

Ryker growls, trying to regain his attention and then Lance is once more caught up in their play. He can hear movement beside them, the other wolves interacting most likely, but Lance is too caught up in something he hasn’t been able to experience in years. 

Shiro is his mate and his best friend, but he’s also his Alpha. And as such, there is a level of respect that Lance will always afford him, even if Shiro isn’t the type to insist. Shiro’s never holds back in his playfulness, but Lance knows that were there other wolves in their pack, it wouldn’t be so public. 

Here though, Lance doesn’t have to be respectful. In the pack hierarchy, Lance outranks Ryker by a lot. 

Especially now that he’s a Luna. 

So Lance isn’t afraid to play dirty and rely on slick tricks to get the upper hand. He’s using every hunter instinct he has, herding Ryker exactly where he wants him, catching him briefly only to let him go and start it all over. 

Ryker, for his part, is ecstatic. Lance can practically feel it pouring off of him in waves as they tumble across the floor. He can feel Shiro asking for his attention, but it’s hard to care when he’s having so much fun. From the way Ryker has glanced towards his Alpha a few times, he’s not the only one being summoned. 

They might have gone on playing forever, until a shadow falls over them, and suddenly they both behind crushed under the hulking form of the sentinel wolf. 

Lance squirms uselessly, trying to turn pleading thoughts to Shiro, who merely ignores him in his amusement. 

Allura clears her throat, and Lance is able to pull himself free of Juun’s weight, stumbling a bit as he overbalances. Shaking himself off, he pads over to sit next to Shiro, who is sitting tall at attention, side by side with Maeko. 

Lance can feel his false sense of camaraderie, see the forced cooperation in the tension of his shoulders, but he doesn’t press it. 

They’d known going into this that working with the other pack would be difficult after the incident. It was why they’d organized this now, to confirm they were even able to work together. And to make sure Lance was comfortable with the other pack.

He should have known the cheerful, playful presence of an omega would ensure that. 

“Does this seem to be okay?” Allura asks, seemingly unphased with the fact that she’s speaking with a wolf who is almost her total height while sitting.

Shiro huffs, a harsh noise that makes Hunk step back a half-step. Lance rolls onto this back, letting his tongue loll, trying to look as non-threatening as possible.

_They think you’re upset._

_They’ll learn._

Just past Shiro, Maeko looks to Lance, who is quick to sit back up, unwilling to show his belly even if the other Alpha is on his best behavior.

At Allura’s look of confusion, Shiro shifts back, standing before the others unperturbed by his own nudity.

“We can make it work.”

Allura nods, a blush high on her cheeks, then looks to Maeko, who huffs much as Shiro had before. 

“Excellent, well just—go with the new plan?” She’s looking over his shoulder instead of directly at him.

Amused despite everything, Lance trots over to their clothes and brings back a pair of pants for Shiro, who slips them on. 

Allura visibly relaxes. 

_Wouldn’t have taken her for the easily flustered type._

Shiro shrugs, his attention on Maeko, who is shifting back as well. 

“Communication between the two packs shouldn’t be a problem,” he comments, once he’s on two feet as well.

“You can’t talk to each other, right?” Pidge asks.

“No, but physical queues seem to be similar enough.”

Seneka shifts back and redresses, passing clothes to Maeko. Along with Allura and Pidge, they begin discussing the new plan, Pidge writing everything down.

Growling from behind draws Lance’s attention, who turns to see Ryker and Juun tussling across the floor. Juun could easily take down the omega, had in fact taken both he and Lance down seconds ago, but right now he’s teasing – allowing Ryker to gain the upper hand now and then. 

It’s fun to watch, and Lance can feel his tail start to wag back and forth, a small woof bubbling in his throat. 

Lance is just around to shift back, join the rest of the crew in the planning, when he feels tentative fingers in his fur. Surprised at his level of distraction, that someone could even sneak up on him like that, he jumps and turns. 

Hunk steps back nervously, and Lance freezes. After a moment of hesitation, Hunk straightens his shoulders and reaches out to touch Lance’s ears again. 

“So you really are a wolf, huh?” Hunk sounds disbelieving despite his words.

Lance sits, tilting his head into Hunk’s hands, allowing his friend to stroke him like a house pet.

“Kind of remind me of my brother’s German Sheppard…” He says almost to himself, but Lance catches it and growls lowly. 

He feels bad instantly, not wanting to scare Hunk, but instead he just laughs and rubs his ears apologetically. 

“Sorry, you definitely look cooler than a dog.”

Lance snorts, shaking his head roughly. 

_We have a plan._

Turning away from Hunk’s unsurprisingly gentle scritches, Lance sits back on his haunches, looking at Shiro expectantly. 

“The bulk of the plan remains, we’re switching out positions and approach.” 

Everyone in the room is listening now, the playful growling behind him over.

“Juun and Seneka will still be responsible with the coms system, but with me and Maeko at their back.”

Surprise bubbles within Lance, immediately noticed by Shiro.

_I don’t want him out of my sight._

“Pidge will have Hunk and Lance, and Keith, you’ll be with Ryker. This way every team has a shifter with them.”

“Will we still be providing coverage from the roof?” Hunk asks, his confusion evident.

Shiro shakes his head. “With the knowledge that the druids can’t sense shifters, we’re operating on the belief that we’ll have better ability to infiltrate.”

“A risky assumption,” Maeko cuts in, and Lance is annoyed to find he agrees. 

“But my call to make,” Shiro replies, voice brooking no argument. 

“A roof-top vantage point is unnecessary if we remain undetected,” Seneka assures, and the look she shares with Maeko must convey something Lance doesn’t see because the Alpha relaxes just slightly.

“We’ll be arriving in two quintents everyone,” Allura reminds them. “Until then, try to relax and prepare.”

+

Getting into the base is so anticlimactic Lance wants to whine. It’s not like he was hoping for things to go wrong, but something exciting would have been nice. 

_I’ve had enough excitement to last me a lifetime, thanks._

Shiro’s at his side, golden eyes bright against his dark fur. They’re all huddled behind a wall, waiting for the two druids on guard to pass by before splitting up. 

Lance is surprised that he can’t feel his heart pounding in his chest, more relaxed than he’s ever been on a mission before, despite the level of danger. 

He’s always felt better in his true form, fiercer, more capable. And there’s something about having the chance to show off for the other paladins, for them to see that like _this_ Lance is strong.

He may not be the most essential on two legs, but on four he’s unstoppable.

“We’re clear,” Pidge tells them, stepping away to look at the group. “Hunk and Lance, you with me?”

Hunk nods, gripping his inactive bayard tight. Lance huffs, right at his side. 

“You guys ready for this?” Keith says, his eyes on Shiro and the other wolves. Standing among them, Shiro looks almost small – only larger than Seneka and Ryker. For the first time since they crossed into the druid’s territory, Lance feels a pang of nerves. 

Maeko nods, his ears upright and alert. Next to him, Shiro huffs, stamping his paw pad on the metal floor. His feet are silent, the claws trimmed down just for this reason.

Keith nods back, his hand wrapped around the hilt of his blade, before turning to look at Ryker. The omega wolf tips his head up to watch him, features just as alert as his brother. 

“See you on the other side,” he tells them, turning to run along the perimeter wall, Ryker hot on his heels. 

Maeko barks low in his throat, gesturing towards the hall they’re meant to be traveling down at the same time Pidge says, “Now or never.”

She spins around, Hunk right behind her, and Lance wants to follow her, he does, but he can’t look away from Shiro. From Maeko standing next to him, huge and imposing. 

Shiro catches on quickly, and instead of heading in the direction the other shifters are moving, he steps closer to Lance. 

_I’ll be okay,_ he licks across Lance’s muzzle before nipping at his ears. _You worry about keeping those two safe. I know you’ve got this._

The vehemence of Shiro’s faith in him snaps him from his fear, and Lance tosses his head out of Shiro’s range. 

_Don’t get into any pissing contests,_ he presses into Shiro’s mind, delighting in the amusement he feels in return.

_No promises._

Lance turns tail, ignoring Pidge’s huffed, “Finally,” as they head down the hall towards the defense frame. At the back of his mind, he can feel Shiro moving towards the central command station. 

They reach a fork in the hall and pause while Pidge consults her map of the layout.  
Nose to the ground, Lance tries to identify and catalogue the smells he’s encountering. 

Overall, most of what he smells is close to the druid’s cloak Ryker let him borrow – dark and earthy – but taking a step towards the left hallway, Lance smells something that has the fur on the back of his neck standing on end, his hackles raised as a low growl tears from his throat. 

Moving further into the hall, Lance closes his eyes, trying to place it. 

“What’s wrong?” Hunk asks, and the scent of his anxiety spikes just enough for Lance to figure it out.

It’s fear. Sour like sweat and bile, getting stronger the further into the hall he goes. 

“It doesn’t matter what it is, we need to go this way,” Pidge motions toward the right hallway.

Whatever happens down this hall, it’s left a stain that won’t be easily washed away. Shiro told him that the druids were the ones to operate on him, had tortured him to see what their experiments could produce.

Lance knows without a doubt that it happened down this hallway.

It takes all of his strength to turn around, to not sniff out the druid who hurt Shiro and tear them limb from limb. Only the knowledge that destroying this base will manage that far better than he ever could allow him to relax.

Back on the right track, Lance continues after Pidge silently until a noise forces him into action. Pidge is just about to turn a corner when Lance hears something low and foreign. Judging by the other’s reactions it’s at a register they don’t process, so Lance has no choice but to lunge forward, biting into Pidge’s belt to haul her back.

Hunk, the brilliant man that he is, covers her mouth before she has the chance to open it, his eyes on Lance who is staring dead ahead, body tense. 

Taking a deep breath, trusting in everything Ryker has told him about the druids, Lance steps around the corner. 

There are two druids, posted outside of a doorway, and they give no reaction to the giant wolf not ten feet in front of them. Lance looks back to the other paladins, shaking his head in the sharp signal they’d created to mean _enemies._

Hunk nods, his bayard shifting into a cannon as Lance creeps in closer to their targets. His ears turned back to pick up the sound of Hunk’s movement, Lance never takes his eyes off of the oblivious druid in front of him, until finally he hears the signal.

Knowing his faith in Hunk is not unfounded, Lance moves into the attack, confident that as he sinks his teeth into the throat of his target, his friend is handling the other. 

The taste is foul, worse than anything he’s ever experienced, the blood thick like tar and unsettlingly cool. 

The skin tears like rice paper, and once it’s dead, Lance drops the body to the floor, nosing into the cloak until he can get enough grip with his teeth to pull it away. 

The choked noise Hunk makes behind him sums up his reaction pretty well.

“Oh, Jesus Christ, that is some silent hill shit.” 

Pidge isn’t far off, he thinks.

It’s humanoid shaped, with sharp pointed ears that remind Lance uncomfortably of Allura and Coran. White, waxy skin mottled with greyish-blue bruises stretches tight over a thin skeleton. 

Most horrifying of all are the sharp, vicious teeth, bared in a grimace between thin, cracked lips and a smooth, blank canvas of skin where eyes and a nose should sit.

“Cover it back up,” Hunk urges him, and Lance is quick to comply. 

Pidge is already at the doorway, her tablet plugged into the forcefully opened panel, squirreling away at the unlock process. 

The door slides open and Lance is the first to poke his head inside. It’s a small room, with wall to wall computers he could never hope to understand. At the all clear signal from him, Pidge and Hunk immediately dive in – pulling paneling away, ripping out the necessary cables to avoid detection. 

Lance sniffs around the room for a bit before moving back to the doorway, taking post to keep an eye out for any druids that may come along. 

It’s quiet, besides the occasional muffled curse from Pidge, but there is a riot of unfamiliar smells, even just sitting at the door. At the back of his mind he can feel the buzz of Shiro’s thoughts – they’re slightly fuzzy, like the link is pulling from distance, but it seems like they’ve found their target.

More time passes, and though Lance wouldn’t describe the situation as _relaxed,_ he’s calm and loose. 

He’s just turning to check on the Pidge and Hunk, he’s pretty sure Shiro and the others must be close to finishing, when he feels it.

It’s like a white-hot bolt of electricity through his head, Lance throws his head down, paws scratching at his ears uselessly, he doesn’t even register that he’s whining until timid hands touch his rear flank.

He whips around, snapping and growling before he remembers where he is, who is touching him.

Hunk shrinks back, putting multiple feet between them, eyes wide. 

Lance tries to relax, to look less intimidating but he can barely even think, the pain in his head is blinding. 

He huffs, shaking his entire body, trying to push it away but it’s only getting worse and now he’s practically howling.

“Lance, please, you’re going to get us caught!” Pidge is still hip deep in druid tech but her voice is strained, attention torn. 

“Are you okay, what—” 

Lance tunes him out, turning all of his attention towards the bond, searching across the link to see if Shiro is experiencing the same thing. It’s only then that he realizes it _is_ the link.

Shiro is unreachable. 

Unlike the cold, bereft misery Lance had felt when the bond had been closed, this is burning hot agony. The bond isn’t closed now, it’s screaming.

He has to find Shiro.

Before he can even process the thought, Lance has shifted, his bare hands and knees pressed against the cold steel floor. He’s panting like he’s just led an entire hunt and when he looks up at Hunk, he can barely see him through the film of tears in his eyes. 

Reaching up to touch his cheeks, he finds them soaking.

“Lance—”

“It’s Shiro,” he grits out. The link is usually less intense in this form, but right now there’s no difference, the pain is absolute. 

“What’s wrong with Shiro?” Pidge asks, her attention never wavering from the task at hand.

“He’s—I don’t _know,_ but I can’t—”

“Go Lance, find him.” Hunk’s steady voice is a lifeline and Lance grabs for it desperately.

Finally, Pidge looks their way. “Hunk, we can’t—” 

“We’ll be fine, I’ll watch your back.”

She looks to Lance, who is still curled on the ground, one hand pulling at his hair in a useless bid to distract from the excruciating bond. Fear skirts across her face but she’s quick to hide it, her eyes resolute when she nods.

“Stay safe,” she says, whirling back to the computer.

Lance is on four paws before she’s even turned around.

Making his way to Shiro is easy, he needs only to follow the pain, which burns brighter with every step he takes in the right direction.

Though he makes no effort to be stealthy, paws slapping against the floor and his constant whine echoing through the narrow hallways, he’s waylaid only once. He wastes no time at all incapacitating the unlucky druid that gets in his way, tearing out it’s throat before it even has a chance to move. 

When he reaches the center of the base, it’s so unexpectedly sudden his paws skid along the floor trying to stop. He scrambles through the open door, heart in his throat.

He’s not at all prepared for what he finds.

They’d known, going into this, that there was a chance Haggar would be at the base. They’d tried to time it for an Empire initiative that had seemed important enough to require her attention, but with the length of travel to reach the base coupled with the ever-changing strategy of war, this has always been a possibility. 

What Lance had never expected to see was this – a massive Galra wolf standing off against a pair of druids, Haggar, and _Shiro,_ the huge black wolf at her side, crouched in an offensive position.

No one notices Lance at the door, not least of all Shiro, who is directly across from Maeko, both wolves growling antagonistically.

Lance can see Seneka and Juun through the wide window into in the room behind them. As far as it appears they have no idea of the confrontation happening on the other side of the glass, their concentration poured into their task of entering the twin code, but if Lance had to guess he’d bet they are completely aware. 

“Get the two in the control room, we’ll handle this one,” Haggar’s cold voice cuts through the growling. The two druids behind her move towards the back room but Lance is there before they can even move. 

His mouth is full of repulsive, oily blood before there’s time to blink, his back legs kicking out at the second as his teeth rip into the first. Not for the first time in his life, Lance gives thanks to the years he’s spent honing his ability to kill. 

He’s only just got the second druid down when the white-hot pain from the link is frozen like ice, his body right along with it. He’s unable to turn his head to look, but that doesn’t remain a problem for long because his entire body is lifted into the air like magic, and he’s turned around to face his attacker.

“My, my,” Haggar muses, yellow eyes hooded but obviously amused. “Another changeling? You’re really coming out of the woodwork, aren’t you?” 

Lance tries to look to past her, to see Shiro, or even Maeko, but he’s completely immobile. 

“You’re feisty, I’ll give you that. You’d do well in the arenas…” 

Anger spikes through him, and Lance has never been so desperate to pull back his lips and growl. 

“Well, you’re no Champion, of course, but maybe with enough practice…” She looks down, presumably to the standoff still occurring at her feet. “Maybe a demonstration would be sufficient?” 

And then she smiles, sharp and cruel, before turning Lance just enough so that he can see the two wolves in the center of the room. At this angle, Lance can see nothing of Juun or Seneka, not even Haggar, despite how uncomfortably close she’s standing to him. 

He does, however, hear the soft clicking noise she makes in her throat.

Shiro lunges, and the burning of the link is so strong it bleeds through the strange, icy hold Haggar has on Lance. Not enough to break it, but enough for him to feel the burst of pain intimately. 

Maeko is prepared for the move, his head dropping low defensively, blocking Shiro’s attack. The weight of the black wolf head on is enough to have them both rolling, paws and tails flying through the air as they snap at each other. 

It’s a mockery of the play fighting Shiro and Lance usually engage in, for as much as it looks exactly the same. 

If he could wince, he would, as he watches Maeko’s teeth sink deep into Shiro’s rear left flank. He braces for the burst of pain that should echo through the link but there’s nothing except the now familiar burn. 

For a minute, it seems like Maeko is going to come out on top, until it becomes obvious that he’s pulling his punches. He’s biting deep, but he’s avoiding the vital areas. He doesn’t actually want to hurt Shiro.

Unfortunately for him, Shiro is not of the same mindset. He quickly gains the upper hand when he gets low, faking for his throat before moving to his legs – it’s a maneuver Lance showed him, so Lance isn’t at all surprised when he sees Shiro’s teeth clasps the back of his leg and tear the tendon out clean.

The sound that pours from his throat is horrific, and Lance wants to cry in sympathy. 

Beside him, Haggar chuckles.

Maeko doesn’t stand a chance after a hit like that – that was a finishing move that there is no coming back from. The amethyst wolf tries to scramble out of Shiro’s radius, but with only three legs and the amount of blood that he’s losing, it’s impossible. 

Lance’s eyes are burning with the need to blink, but more than that, the desire to look anywhere but at what’s happening. 

Shiro circles him, savoring his victory of a larger opponent, darting in to bite the other wolf again and again, drawing it out. It seems to go on forever, but could only be a few minutes, before Shiro tenses, his body readying to deliver the coup de gras.

“He’s good, for a changeling,” Haggar says, almost to herself. 

Lance struggles frantically at her hold on him, desperate to turn and rip into her, and he’s shocked when he feels it give, minutely.

She must be too, as her head snaps towards him, eyes wide. 

It’s all the distraction the two shifters behind her need. 

Lance hits the ground at the same time Juun and Seneka lunge into Haggar’s back. Wasting no time to check, Lance spins around, fighting through the burning link every step of the way to slam into Shiro, sprawling the Alpha across the floor. 

Maeko takes his chance to scramble out of the way, leaving a trail of blood that Lance’s paws skid through as he moves to meet Shiro head on. 

_Shiro!_ Lance screams it through the link, praying to be heard over the white noise of Haggar’s control. 

There’s not even a flicker of recognition in Shiro’s face, his golden eyes crazed. Lance can’t look away, not even when he hears Keith and Ryker tear into the room behind him.

 _Shiro, please!_

Lance ducks just in time as Shiro's jaws snap a hair's breadth from his nape. The force and speed of the attack sends a sharp gust of air through his fur. 

Turning his full attention towards his attacker, _his Alpha,_ Lance steps backwards quickly, a delicate dance through the now sticky blood on the floor. 

Shiro is at his front every step of the way, snapping at his face and throat, his injuries doing nothing to slow his pursuit. 

It’s a cacophony of sound in the small room, echoing off the walls, the fight behind him nearly silent in comparison to the sound of their corrupted bond and the pounding of his heart. 

He’s scared, but not for the reasons he normally would be in a fight. 

Shiro may be relentless, but he’s losing blood, and it’s starting to slow him down. He’s leaving openings left and right, and if he were any other wolf Lance would have ended it by now. 

But this is Shiro, his Alpha, his _mate._ If the positions were reversed, he knows that Shiro would never harm him, would rather die. 

Lance would rather die too.

A piercing scream in the melee behind snaps him out of his melancholy thoughts. 

Lance isn’t the only one at risk here. 

Right now, Shiro is a threat, to all of them. One glance at the bloody floor is all he needs to remember what happens when Shiro is shown mercy.

And as much as Lance doesn’t want to hurt Shiro, he also doesn’t want Shiro to snap out of this and discover he’s hurt the people he loves.

Because he _will_ snap out of this. 

Lance won’t let that bitch use Shiro ever again.

Shiro lunges for his throat, he’s slowing down and he knows it – Shiro has no choice but to pull out all the stops and try to end this as quickly as possible. 

He dips down to snap at Lance’s forelegs, in what looks exactly like the attack he used on Maeko. But Lance didn’t spend years watching Shiro for nothing. He knows him, even without the link.

So he sees the feint coming, and instead of jumping back and exposing his throat the way Shiro wants, he throws himself into Shiro, sinking his teeth into his now unguarded neck. 

The noise Shiro makes is awful, and the pain of it pings through the link, enough to make Lance want to release his hold immediately.

Pain is good – feeling anything through the bond right now is good.

He fights the urge, biting harder and feeling the crunch of muscle under his teeth. Shaking his head roughly, Lance whines at the self-induced agony. 

Shiro is almost frozen, the force of being scruffed so hard coupled with blood loss, he’s barely fighting Lance. 

Using every ounce of his not inconsiderable strength Lance pushes him down towards the floor and focuses on the pain. 

It’s agony, but it’s getting stronger, and every second that it does the burning influence of druid magic lessens, giving way to the sharp sting of their shared injuries. Lance presses at it.

_Shiro, snap out of it, wake the fuck up!_

Shiro shudders, the fur along his spine standing on end, and his head hits the ground roughly as his front paws slide out from under him. The motion kicks some fight back into him, and he tries ineffectively to throw Lance off of him.

_Come on, come on!_

Lance shakes his head again, almost rough enough to seriously injure, growling. Shiro has to snap out of it, he’s losing so much blood and Lance’s teeth aren’t helping matters, every movement rending the flesh further.

_Please, please, Takashi, I need you._

There’s a harsh noise on the other side of the room and in an instant the link burns hotter than the sun. Lance lets go of Shiro without thought, mouth open in a hideous howl.

And then it’s gone.

Panting, Lance’s head snaps up. On the other side of the room Keith, Pidge, and Hunk stand with their bayards held high, each one trained on the figure kneeling on the floor between them.

With her hood pulled back, silver hair tumbling messily over her shoulders, Haggar doesn’t seem as imposing as she normally does.

It could also be that she’s cowering on the floor. 

The Galra shifters are gone, except for Maeko who is looking almost as rough as Shiro. Now that he’s is no longer struggling, it’s quiet in the room and Hunk is the first to notice Lance.

He looks at Shiro, sprawled motionless on the floor. “Is he…?”

Lance huffs, stamping at the floor in a motion he hopes conveys his message. Shiro is breathing, even though it’s shallow.

The link is steady – quiet, but whole.

Pidge is speaking, but it’s too low for Lance to hear through her glass fronted helmet. Lance can only imagine Allura’s cool, rational directions on the other end of the radio. 

Leaning down, he noses along Shiro’s face, licking blood from his muzzle. Shiro huffs at being jostled, and though he doesn’t open his eyes, Lance knows he’s okay for now. With that assurance, he steps away, moving toward the others. 

Keith watches him draw nearer, his massive sword never faltering in its position under Haggar’s throat. 

She’s watching him too, her eyes narrowed in disgust as she pants. Even vulnerable and outnumbered, she is full of poisonous hatred. 

“—that’s a big risk to take,” Pidge is saying into the comms link. “You know I’m not one to pass up on potential information, but she’s slipped out of our grip before.”

Allura wants to take her alive. They hadn’t truly expected Haggar to be on the base at this time, but Allura had mentioned it in passing before. She’s said the witch had too much insight into the inner workings of the Empire to pass up at the chance of interrogation. 

Personally, Lance suspects it has more to do with Haggar’s heritage and Allura’s desire to learn how one of her own race could turn traitor so thoroughly.

“We don’t even know if we can get anything out of her,” Keith cuts in angrily. “It’s not worth the risk!”

Lance agrees, but there isn’t much he can say in the matter just then. He continues to watch Haggar, whose yellow eyes are burning into his own. Without realizing it, he begins growling low in his throat.

Haggar smiles.

“The Champion’s bitch has got some fight in him,” her voice is raspy, and it makes the hair at the back of his neck stand on end. Lance growls louder, stepping nearer, and at the back of his mind he feels a sickening tug that he pushes down without thought.

“Interesting that the blue paladin is missing from your little rag tag group. Could it be because _you_ are the blue paladin?” She asks, voice amused in a way that grates at Lance, who is growling so hard he’s beginning to drool.

“Lance…” Hunk tries to interrupt but is barely heard over the sound of Lance’s anger. 

Keith is watching them both vigilantly, and Lance can’t look away from the face of pure evil in front of him. Hunk is looking between the three of them with concern as Pidge continues to argue with Allura on the next step to take.

Their various levels of distraction all lend perfectly to Haggar’s plan. 

Because of course she had a plan, Lance should have known better, they _all_ should have known better, 

He senses nothing through the link with Shiro before the massive black wolf is barreling into his side, blood loss be damned. 

Even injured as he is, Shiro has enough strength to topple Lance over, to get the upper hand in the confusion. 

Lance feels desperately along the link but it’s calm and still, and it quickly becomes obvious that what he had believed to be a respite from Haggar’s influence is actually something more insidious – it’s closed – just as surely as it had been when Shiro had tried to hide his outrage and hurt before. 

The paladins are yelling, but Lance can spare them no attention, too busy rolling out from under Shiro’s snapping teeth. 

What he can hear is Haggar’s high, thin voice – cackling loudly in a grotesque facsimile of a laugh. It doesn’t sound like it’s getting any closer, so Lance has faith that his friends have her well in hand. He has to, because all of his focus is on Shiro, who is quickly rounding back to lunge again.

It’s as if the injuries he sustained are nothing, like he’s a marionette and Haggar is the puppet master, controlling his strings to drive him on despite the pain and exhaustion Shiro must surely be feeling. 

Shiro dives forward for another attack and Lance only barely rolls out of his way, his claws scrabbling on the floor as he pulls his tail out of the range of Shiro’s teeth.

It’s so similar to how they play that Lance wants to laugh, wants to _cry,_ this is his _mate_ and Haggar is twisting this beautiful, wonderful thing between them to suit her selfish needs. 

Lance dances backwards, turning his attention once more to the link. 

The bond between shifters is one Lance has known his entire life. He knows how to interpret it, how to manipulate it. Knows when another in his pack needs space, needs closeness. He’s turned away when he felt his parents desire to be intimate and pushed through when his sister tried to hide him away from the hurt feelings of a break-up.

Shiro is being forced to shut him out right now, like a door slammed shut in his face. 

But Lance is a little brother, he knows a thing or two about getting into places he’s not wanted. This wouldn’t be the first time he’s jimmied open a locked door. 

With his good eye one Shiro’s pursuit, and his ears turned back towards the paladins to be sure they’ve got everything under control as much as they can, Lance takes a deep breath and _feels._

The door is solid but it’s not impenetrable. If he focuses, he can feel it’s weak spots – cracks around the frame, a gap at the floor where the light of Shiro’s soul peeps through. 

If he listens, he can almost hear it – his Alpha’s voice, the high whine of an injured wolf, pain resonating in the sound. 

_I’m here Shiro, you’re not alone._

Lance tries to press his feelings of reassurance through the cracks, his unwavering resolve to help, to _make this right._

The whining gets louder and with it, Shiro’s thoughts begin to bleed through.

They’re distorted, messy and unclear, more wolf than man but Lance focuses – steps neatly out of the range of Shiro’s teeth once more – and _feels._

It comes to him suddenly, a little bit like being struck by lightning, if Lance had to describe it, which he surely will, later. 

_Shiro’s arm._

The one that Lance was so surprised to see shift with him, as naturally as the rest of his shifter body. He’d been surprised, the first time he’d seen it, because it meant that the Galra had clearly known their Champion was a shifter. Had made allowances for it.

But it makes sense now, why they would have done so. 

They hadn’t given him that arm out of the goodness of their hearts, or even their selfish desire to see him destroy other in the arena. 

They’re done it for the same reason the Galra Empire had done everything else. 

To control. 

As quickly as it takes for Lance to realize what it is that’s happening, he makes the decision to end it.

Shiro is an entirely new beast. Any trace of humanity he’d retained in their earlier fight is gone, he’s showing no signs of wear or tear, like he isn’t injured enough to be knocking on death's door. 

Haggar’s hold transcends mortal limitations.

The wolf at his front is prepared to fight until he dies, and it’s clear from how he moves.

Lance can’t help wondering if the opponents Shiro faced in the arena saw this same level of desperation and obedience. 

He thinks, suddenly, of he and Shiro lying in bed together. With the lights completely out, Shiro is more comfortable talking about the things he saw, and did, during his time as a captive of the Empire.

“They didn’t want to die,” he’d said quietly, his metal hand pressed flat to Lance’s belly, his mouth breathing the words into Lance’s spine. “They wanted to live. But I wanted it more.”

Lance had decided then and there that he would do everything he could to make sure Shiro’s sacrifices were not in vain, that his fight hadn’t been for nothing. He’d vowed to keep Shiro alive for as long as possible. 

So when Shiro moves to attack him again, it’s the easiest decision Lance has ever made to feint away and leave Shiro open. He doesn’t second guess himself for a second as he lunges at Shiro from the side and closes his mouth around the seam of metal and flesh on Shiro’s front right leg, tears into it with sharp teeth and strong jaws, pulling his head back hard as blood floods into his mouth. 

It feels both slow and fast. It seems like eons that his mouth is closed around Shiro, the giant black wolf fighting against his hold, but it’s also over in seconds and Lance finally pulls away, still holding Shiro’s leg in his mouth, the metal paw dangling uselessly. 

And just like that, the door swings open and Shiro floods through their link once more. 

It’s like a tidal wave, as if the door had been holding up a wall of Shiro’s essence and without it’s support, it has nowhere to go but into Lance.

He’s hurting, Lance feels that first and foremost, but right behind that is a wash of anger Lance can barely fathom. 

_Takashi,_ Lance starts, dropping the mangled leg in his mouth, before turning to face his mate. 

Shiro is panting heavily, but somehow, he’s still standing, surrounded by his own blood which is still pouring from his injured shoulder. He should be near dead on the floor from the blood loss, but there’s something inside of him that’s keeping him up. 

Lance doesn’t have to search very hard through their bond to find it. He turns to see the source of Shiro’s unnatural strength – and anger – and finds the paladins surrounding Haggar still.

This time though, she flat against the floor, her eyes murderous as she stares up at them all. 

Maeko stands above her, his jaws held loosely around her throat, blood dripping from the wound above his eyes, down his muzzle and into her messy hair.

Without moving his head, he looks to Shiro, eyes wide and trusting, and Lance can see the exchange between them though the paladins may not. 

Shiro takes a step, and Lance can feel the spike of pain secondhand. Every part of Shiro hurts, from his nose to his tail, every breath is agony from shattered ribs and the bottoms of his remaining paws are raw as they slip through the viscera on the floor. 

There’s a commotion to the left of him and Lance turns his head to compensate for his blind spot to see the other shifters return. Juun is limping, and Seneka is so crusted in dark, oily blood she looks like an entirely different wolf, but Ryker seems okay. He’s still bouncing around a bit, as if he loves nothing more than taking down enemies, which is probably true. 

They pause in the doorway, and once Lance turns back, everyone’s attention is on Shiro as he slowly, painfully, makes his way to Haggar. 

Maeko tightens the grip of his teeth briefly, and Lance can see a blood of red blood track it’s way down her throat where his fangs have cut into the skin, before he lets go and steps away. 

The giant black Alpha wolf stands above her, and Lance listens closely to their bond. 

Shiro is so far gone from his humanity in that moment that Lance can’t make out words in his thoughts, but he does get flashes of Shiro’s memories – being held down by the druids as they cut into him, cold, grimy hands on his skin, pushing him out into the arena naked and terrified, Haggar’s burning yellow eyes, watching him fight for his life. 

She’d smile, sometimes, when he won. There had been a point where Shiro wanted nothing more than to see that smile, to know the fight was over and he’d lived to see another day. 

She isn’t smiling now. 

For the first time that Lance has ever seen, she looks scared.

And like most abusers who have had the tables turned on them, she tries to reason.

“I made you a _champion—”_ she starts, voice like an unoiled hinge. 

Lance growls, the sound echoing through the room, and Shiro wastes no time in leaning down to tear sharp Alpha teeth into her throat. 

In the grand scheme of their fight against the Empire, killing Haggar is a relatively quick task.

Shiro rips her flesh away, chewing and swallowing as if she were the dream rabbit finally caught. 

Her body twitches, and Keith steps forward, swinging his bayard up high before bringing it down in an arc of red, taking her head off the rest of the way. 

Shiro sways, and Lance is shifting back before he can think.

His less agile human feet stumble through the blood, and he goes down on his knees with barely enough coordination to catch Shiro as he falls. 

“He needs to be in a med pod immediately,” Lance barks, his hands moving to Shiro’s head, cradling him gently in his lap.

Ryker and Seneka have shifted back as well, both moving to their Alpha’s side.

“The base has been effectively disabled; communications and defenses are down. There will be serious impacts to the Empire without the druids.” Seneka’s voice is very no nonsense as she checks over Maeko, hands clinical and capable. 

“And with Haggar dead, they’re going to be all kinds of fucked,” Ryker grins, sharp and fierce, and Lance knows with certainty that this omega wolf is a good match for his friend. 

“Are there any remaining on the base?” Pidge asks, her attention half on the tablet that’s made another appearance in her hands. 

“What we didn’t kill got away, but they won’t make it far – or long. The druids have a hive mind, and we just took their queen.”

Lance feels a soft brush across the link, and his face snaps down to Shiro, who is looking up at him with hazy eyes. 

“You took her down, baby,” Lance whispers, though he knows every shifter in the room can hear him. “You did so good.”

Shiro whines and his tail thumps once, but his eyes close, the exhaustion catching up with him.

Juun shift’s back, and his ankle is twice the size it normally is, but he doesn’t seem bothered by the pain.

“Allura’s here,” Pidge informs them, and with everyone’s help, they manage to get Shiro and Maeko onto the ship. 

Coran has two healing pods tipped backwards to accommodate the larger, prone forms of the two wolves who are both two injured to shift back into more manageable forms.

Lance watches silently as Shiro is bundled into the pod, dropping a kiss onto his still furry head. He’s standing with a hand pressed to the glass, unwilling to step more than a few feet away from his mate, when a bundle of cloth is pressed into his side.

Pidge holds out a pair of sweatpants.

“I have a hard-enough time seeing your balls when they’re fuzzy and accompanied by a tail.”

Lance snorts, stepping into the soft grey bottoms. They’re Shiro’s, from his locker in the training rooms. 

“You know I thought being launched into space to fight aliens was going to be the weirdest part of my life but finding out two of my friends are we—” her eyes dart to his apologetically, “ _shifters_ is right up there.”

Lance smiles softly, finally turning away from the med pod. 

“Though to be honest,” she continues, following him out of the room. “The most shocking part of all of this is that _you_ are capable of keeping secrets.”

“What!” Lance turns in shock. “Why would you think I can’t keep secrets?”

“Lance, you are the most gossipy person I know.”

He scoffs. “There’s a big difference between gossip and secrets, _okay,_ so don’t get me started—” 

+

Maeko comes out of the pod after four days. He’s quiet, and Lance doesn’t see much of him, but Keith tells him that Maeko and Ryker have been spending a lot of time together talking.

He doesn’t know what about, but he suspects. No one has mentioned the other packs continued residence on the ship. No one seems to want to make a decision until Shiro is back.

Coran tells him he’s okay, but the silence of their bond echoes in Lance’s head. 

+

On the seventh day, Allura pulls him into a room of the engineering bay.

“I’ve been working on this, since… you know,” she gestures vaguely, and Lance knows she means the druid base. Since Shiro got hurt. “I looked at the one the Galra made and tried to copy their basic idea, to make it shift at will, but of course I won’t know if it’s right until Shiro can actually _try it—"_

Lance tunes her out, his attention captured by the gleaming prosthetic on the table. It’s long and slim, just like his previous one, though where the other was dark like gunmetal, this is white and glossy. There are thin lines of disabled lights that run from where it will attach to his shoulder all the way down to his wrist, crisscrossing over the back of the hand. 

“If you do this—” Allura reaches over, brushing a finger gently down the inactive light, causing it to burn bright neon blue before shifting seamlessly into a perfect wolf’s paw. 

“In theory, it should shift with Shiro without any thought, just as his last one did, but it’s hard to test it out any further.”

She sounds nervous, Lance recognizes with a start. He turns to look at her and sees her face full of worry.

“Allura, it’s amazing,” he reassures quickly. “Shiro will really appreciate it.”

Allura nods, not looking at him. “Good, that’s good. I just—Shiro does so much for all of us, he’s such a good person and if I can help in anyway—” 

Lance reaches for her hands, which she’s twisting nervously, before pulling her into a hug. 

“I’m sorry, I know you must be fretting so much, I don’t know why—”

“Shiro is your friend,” Lance breathes into her silky white hair, holding her soft body tight against him. “You love him, you’re allowed to be worried.” 

She pulls away, smiling gently. “I’m so happy you two have each other.”

Lance shrugs, a soft smile blooming on his face. “Kind of crazy right? Two shifters ending up on the same crazy mission.”

“Fate, it seems to me,” she says, before looking back at the arm she’s designed. “All of you coming here, it was fate.”

+

When Shiro finally wakes, it’s not for long. 

Lance is there to catch him, to keep him steady as he finally shifts back into his human form after two long weeks in the med pod. 

Shiro takes one took at him, his dark eyes tired despite what amounts to days of sleep, and nods. 

“Do it,” he consents, his head already full of Lance’s question. 

He’s back under the pull of medical sleep before Lance even has time to say a word, and the surgery is quick and clean.

+

“I’m just saying there is a good chance that fae exist, based on how prevalent the concept is among different societies,” Hunk insists, reaching for a mug to pour coffee into.

“By that logic then vampires exist too,” Pidge chimes in, stealing a roll from the plate in the middle of the table.

“For all we know, they do,” Lance comments happily. “I mean, less than a month in space and I met a mermaid.” He shoves a roll between his teeth and speaks through a mouthful. “I could buy fae.”

“Fae?” Ryker asks Keith, tucked closely to his side. 

Keith rolls his eyes, adjusting his arm around Ryker’s waist, pulling him in closer. “Long story, hardly important.”

“Okay so maybe they do exist, but are you telling me all the bullshit about the deals they make with humans are true too? Like the rules they _have_ to follow? Cause that I don’t believe for a second.”

“I never said that,” Hunk starts to tell Pidge, but stops when Lance sits up straight, the motion so sudden and sharp that it rattles the cutlery on the table.

Shiro’s awake. Conscious for the first time since the surgery three days ago. Lance is out of his seat before anyone can ask if he’s okay and halfway to the medical bay when he registers everyone else behind him. 

Coran is already there, checking over the med pod readings, and just like before, Lance is there to catch Shiro as he stumbles out. 

He’s quicker to find his footing this time, though.

“Mmm,” Shiro hums, nose buried into Lance’s neck as if on instinct. “You smell good.”

Lance laughs, his arms tightening around Shiro as the others finally catch up. 

“You smell like antiseptic,” he returns, which is only part true. Lance can scent the strong, welcoming undertones of his Alpha underneath it. 

Shiro grunts, shaking his head slightly before stepping away, his hands sliding down Lance’s arms to grasp his fingers.

He looks down, turning Lance’s hand this way and that as he inspects his own new prosthetic. “Looks like it worked out,” he comments, clenching his fingers slightly. 

“Allura says it’ll shift with you, like the other…” He trails off, not wanting to remind Shiro of what _else_ his old arm was capable of. 

The link is humming, warm and welcoming and stronger than it’s been in weeks. Lance can only sigh, relaxing for the first time since they entered the druids base.

“You should try it out!” Hunk urges, causing Shiro and Lance to simultaneously remember the other people in the room.

Shiro smiles wanly. “I will, soon. The base?”

Keith nods his head. “Mission successful.”

There’s a rush of relief through the link, burning bright before fading into a warm simmer. It loosens the tension that Lance hadn’t even realized was pinching his shoulders painfully. 

“Good, that’s good.” He looks around at the room at each of them, noting who is there and who isn’t. “Any losses?”

Lance considers pointing out the fact that all of this information is readily available in his own head, but he thinks there is something soothing that Shiro finds in situation reports. He wants to reorient himself. 

“Our leader was out of commission for a couple weeks, but otherwise, we’re all okay.” Lance grins as he says it, and Shiro pulls him in to squeeze against his chest. He rubs his face against the back of Lance’s neck, in a gesture that probably only Ryker recognizes as scenting.

Though the raised eyebrow on Keith’s face says he may be becoming more familiar with wolf behaviors thanks to his boyfriend.

“Perfect,” Shiro growls playfully into his neck, before looking back at the others. “There’s no time to find a new black paladin if we’re going to strike while the iron’s hot.” 

“The druid’s immediate threat is gone. The Empire is weakened.” Ryker says it so sweetly, Lance can barely hear the threat underneath.

But it’s there.

“We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us,” Shiro comments, tightening the arm banded around Lance’s waist. 

“Allura’s already planning,” Pidge cuts in. “She’s been waiting for you to wake up.”

“Then let’s go tell her the good news.”

+

Lance can’t decide if he’s surprised Maeko’s pack breaks up. 

“Seneka is staying with him,” Ryker assures him. “They’re closer than some mates, so I’m not surprised.”

Lance nods, though he can’t say he sees it. He’s interacted very little with Seneka, and he doesn’t necessarily care to change that fact. 

“And Juun?” 

Ryker smiles. “He’s coming with me. Kolivan said there’s room for all of us, but I think he’ll be pleased with just the two of us.”

Maeko’s difficulty playing with others goes unspoken but understood between them.

“You’re gonna be okay without an Alpha?” 

Trust Shiro to be concerned about that. 

Lance rolls his eyes. “I was without an Alpha for years.” 

_You’re not an omega,_ Shiro reminds him unnecessarily. 

_I don’t think there’s ever been an omega like Ryker._

Yellow eyes flash with humor, and for a split-second Lance worries Ryker can hear them. 

“We’ll be fine. There are other shifters in the Blade, even other Alphas. And I have Juun, of course. And Keith.” 

As a group they all turn to where Keith is tapping away at a coms pad, speaking with the Blade members who are set to arrive any minute, if Lance had to guess. 

Confused violet eyes turn up at them, as if sensing their gaze. Ryker waves and a hot blush spreads across Keith’s face before he looks back at his tablet. 

“I think this is good. Maeko will have a chance to start anew, and he knows I’ll be safe with the Blade...and it will be nice for me to be on my own a bit.”

Lance nods, a shared understanding between them of the way the constant presence of an Alpha can sometimes become overbearing.

Shiro looks him, eyes concerned.

 _It was nice to have space sometimes,_ Lance thinks, reaching out to take Shiro’s hand. _I wouldn’t go back though. I like you lurking in my thoughts all the time._

He grins as Shiro rolls his eyes, and Ryker’s mouth ticks up in amusement.

“I should probably check on them, before the others get here.”

Ryker bows to them both just a bit, before heading towards the exit. Lance is still looking at Keith, who is distracted away from his task at hand to watch his boyfriend leave the room. 

Lance snorts when he realizes where Keith’s eyes are fixed and abandons his own boyfriend, who wanders over to chat with Allura and Coran.

“Wouldn’t have pegged you as the type to go for someone taller than you,” Lance comments, conversationally. There’s been so much excitement recently, he’s had no chance to make fun of Keith over his relationship.

“He’s barely taller than me,” Keith returns, not bothering to look at Lance as he returns his attention to his pad. It’s wasted though, Lance can see he’s not doing anything important on it. 

Lance sits down next to him.

“He is rather sweet,” he continues as if Keith hasn’t spoken. “Omegas usually are. Of course, he definitely holds his own in a fight, so I guess I don’t have to worry about you walking all over him.”

“What are you—I don’t walk all over people.”

“You can be seriously bossy Keith, and as your friends it’s my job to help you out with these types of things.”

“Lance, really, let’s not—”

“I _do_ want to make it sure you’re super clear on the whole omega deal, though,” Lance continues. He’s only half joking, actually. This is something he’s been thinking about since he found out about the two of them. “The whole pregnancy-no-matter-the-gender thing—”

“Lance—”

“Cause, I don’t know about you, but I think fighting a war against an alien empire is hard enough _without_ knocking someone up, and—”

Keith pushes as Lance’s shoulder. “Oh my god, would you shut up, it’s not—”

“Well I haven’t run into any space condoms, alright, and pulling out is only so effective—”

“Jesus Christ, Lance, please.” He slaps both palms over his face.

“I’m just saying, I don’t think you’re ready to be a dad, so—”

Finally, Keith throws up his hands, jostling Lance, who is having more fun than he’d like to admit. 

“Pregnancy isn’t exactly a concern with the way we’re doing things, okay?”

Keith’s face is so red as he stage whispers, Lance thinks he might burst. He’s so amused by this that it takes him a few minutes to catch up with the words, until finally it clicks.

“Oooh…huh” Lance looks at him, at the way Keith brushes his long bangs forward, as if to cover his face. “I always knew we had more in common than it seemed.”

The blush drains from his face. “What?”

“Shiro is an _Alpha,_ Keith. They’re not exactly known for spreading their legs, ya know?”

“Uhh—’

“I mean, not that we haven’t messed around. Obviously, I’ve put my fingers up there,” Lance holds his hand up, as if to demonstrate. “And he _loves_ being eaten out, which—”

Keith stands up. “I’m out of here.”

“Ah, Keith, come on, it’s normal to talk about these things with your friends!” What starts at reasonable volume ends in yelling as Keith quickly exits the room. 

Shiro, who had been placing mental bets on how long Keith would take to leave, reappears back at Lance’s side. 

“You’re actually the worst, you know that?” He drops down heavily at Lance’s right. 

Turning his good eye to his mate, Lance smiles, sharp teeth on display. 

“You love me.” 

Shiro snorts, shaking his head as if to deny it, totally at odds with the way his face moves into Lance’s neck. 

“I really do.”

+

The Blades come to take the other shifters. 

Though only Ryker and Juun are joining their ranks, Maeko and Seneka are able to catch a ride to the nearest galaxy. 

The two Alpha’s shake hands, and Lance doesn’t detect any malice on either side, which is the best they can all hope for, he thinks. 

Maeko turns to look at him, just before he boards the ship. Lance thinks he’s going to say something, maybe apologize again, or even castigate. 

Instead he merely nods respectfully. Lance returns the gesture, and that’s that. 

Lance memorizes every flustered blush and flirty hair toss from Allura as she speaks to Kolivan and logs it away to give her hell over later. 

He politely ignores the slightly tearful goodbye between Ryker and Keith. 

They’ll see each other again, assuming everything remains stable with the Blade. But Lance frets to even consider parting ways with Shiro. 

He doesn’t blame his friends for having a hard time letting go as they hug in the landing bay.

+

“You think because now I know you’re some mystical magic wolf shifter, you get to skip out on chores?”

Lance huffs and rolls his eyes. “Pidge, please, you know I’d cover for you. I _have_ covered for you!”

“Yeah, and I’ve paid you back.” She tosses this over her shoulder as she moves about the lab. 

“Come on, Shiro and I _never_ get the chance to run together, this is different circumstances!”

“You two literally destroyed the training room two days ago!”

Lance waves his hand through the air, brushing her words away. “That was different. Fighting and running are two _totally_ different things.”

“And weren’t you racing each other down the hallways last week? I’m pretty sure Hunk and Coran were placing bets.”

 _That_ Lance can’t brush off quite so easily. He still can’t believe Hunk bet against him.

“I’ll do your chores for a week,” he finally offers.

“Done.”

“Do your parents know they raised an extortionist?”

Pidge smiles and shrugs, pulling herself closer to the screen she’d been working on when he came in. 

“Your chores will be done for today, what does it really matter?”

Lance chooses not to question that and heads out to meet Shiro. A quick ping along the link tells him the Alpha is already outside waiting for him.

_You know if you just did your chores earlier in the day, you wouldn’t have to haggle with Pidge over them, right?_

_Well if I’d_ known _we would have the chance to go running tonight, I would have._

Shiro gives him a mental eye roll. He’s already shifted by the time Lance finds him – a great black wolf, dark as the night sky except for the bright gold eyes and a gleaming white Altean leg, shiny blue lights running down to the paw.

Lance strips off his clothes and throws them on top of Shiro’s neatly folded pile. He takes a deep breath and lets the shift come over him smoothly, his paws hitting the sandy ground.

 _Oh that smell…_ Lance lifts his nose to the air, tries to take it in.

_It’s nice, huh?_

If the planet they’re on has a name, he’s not sure of it. It’s so small, he and Shiro could probably lap the entire thing without getting tired. But it was rich with natural resources, and the smell of oddly colored fruit permeated everything. 

Putting his nose down to the soft, pink sand, Lance breathes deep. It’s rich and warm, but on top there are traces of _something._

 _Game?_ Shiro asks, his ears perking up in excitement. 

Lance feels his tail wag in interest. 

_I think so._

Shiro yips, dropping down to his front paws, tail high in the air.

 _Run?_ He suggests, delighted.

 _Run._ Lance agrees – and then they’re off.

**Author's Note:**

> [come say hi to me on my tumblr](http://thinkpinkwrites.tumblr.com)
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> [i'm on twitter now too!](https://twitter.com/thinkpinkwrites)
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> [i'm on twitter now too!](https://twitter.com/thinkpinkwrites)


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